Health volunteers promote safe motherhood in Ntchisi
Community healthcare volunteers in Traditional Authority Chikho in Ntchisi District have urged pregnant mothers to access antenatal services.
Speaking in an interview on Monday, Ndundu Village Cluster leader Patricia Malomo said they recommend that pregnant women access antenatal services.
She cited a case of Eunice Lombwa, 34, who they encouraged in 2020 to go to hospital after she started bleeding.
“As a pregnant woman, Lombwa was supposed to start visiting a hospital three months after her pregnancy. However, she never attended antenatal clinics until she started bleeding,” she said.
Malomo said women who do not go for antenatal services risk not knowing the status of their babies and what is required of them as they near delivery time.
“To reduce maternal and infant deaths, we encourage pregnant women to go to hospital when they become pregnant. We encourage them to take their medicine and eat six food groups,” she said.
Alena Bauleni, a promoter in the village, said the volunteers, under World Vision Malawi, helped Lombwa to go to nearby Chinthembwe Mission Hospital where she was later referred to Ntchisi District Hospital.
“By then she was four months pregnant. Afterwards, we visited her regularly with advice to eat six food groups and keep her home clean,” she said.
Lombwa thanked the volunteers for the sound advice, saying she delivered safely at Ntchisi District Hospital
