By Correspondent
Some pregnant women who have been failing to access maternity services at Council clinics as the institutions grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic are now resorting to using untrained midwives from their locations.
Many Council clinics have stopped offering maternal services a situation that has seriously impacted pregnant women.
The lack of services at clinics such as Seke South Clinic in Chitungwiza has also increased the risk of maternal mortality as many of the women cannot afford to go to private institutions or other alternatives which are very far.
Speaking to Open Council a pregnant Natalie Gomo (22) said the situation has become very difficult for her and other women in her situation.
“We cannot afford to go to other places and locations which are surrounding us even for check-ups because they are far and there is a need for bus fare which we don’t have. So we end up looking for elderly women or anyone with knowledge to help us with delivery”, she said.
Various health institutions have scaled-down operations at their facilities as they aim to reduce human traffic whilst also focusing more on dealing with Covid-19.
Currently, many Polyclinics have stopped offering services such as scale and check-ups for pregnant women.
The situation has resulted in some women losing their babies due to arising complications.
Jeremiah Mutungamiri (32) said he lost his baby due to complications that were not noticed until it was too late.
“I lost my baby and nearly lost my wife also as the baby was growing in tubes in the womb and the problem was not noticed in the early stages of the pregnancy because she was not being checked at local clinics and we couldn’t afford private hospitals”, he explained.
A health worker at Zengeza 3 Clinic explained it was unfortunate but they could not offer maternity services due to the pandemic.
“We have stopped offering scale services because of Covid and some clinics have stopped offering any maternity services which means pregnant women who depended on them have to go to other places such as Seke North and Chitungwiza Hospital.
“For now we are only giving tetanus injections to the women for only three months and after that, the patient is only required to visit on deliverance day as there are no longer any monthly check-ups”, she added.
This week President Mnangagwa rolled back many of the restrictions under lockdown which may lead to a change in the plight of many pregant women.
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