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‘Don’t keep mothers who lose babies in same ward’
● Ms Lydia Mensah, a mother who lost her baby girl
A 30-year-old mother, Ms Lydia Mensah, who lost her daughter after delivery, has urged hospital authorities to separate ‘unfortunate’ mothers who lose their babies after birth from ‘successful’ mothers.
According to her, that would ease the pain, trauma and heartbreak associated with such situations.
She said watching other mothers breastfeed and take care of their newborn babies remind them of their loss.
Speaking with The Spectator on Monday as part of activities to mark what would have been the fourth birthday of her baby girl this month, Ms Mensah said she found it necessary to use the occasion to appeal to medical professionals to take such mothers to different wards to help them overcome the ordeal.
Ms Mensah narrated how her baby had died from shortness of breath because oxygen was in short supply at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and recalled how staff had replaced hers with that of another baby who was stable.
“After feeding her, I went back to check on her again but when I saw the number of medical staff gathered around her, I got alarmed and went to enquire about what was happening and I was told to go and get oxygen for her.”
“Having just gone through a caesarean-section, I was forced to roam the hospital in search of oxygen to save my daughter.”
The 30-year-old mother said she felt too weak and so she had to call her mother and husband to help get some for her but it was too late.
“What broke my heart was when I went to the wards and saw other mothers feeding their babies,” she said.
She said she had to complain to a doctor who suggested that she should be discharged so that her mother who was a medical person would assist in dressing her wound.
According to her, going back for review was another trauma because she saw many mothers with their babies at the Child Welfare Clinic.
“I was broken and I have never cried like that in my entire life like I did during that period,” she disclosed.
Ms Mensah said though she had a son before she lost her daughter and another son after, she continued to battle with the pain of losing a child.
She appealed to the government to ensure that there was enough oxygen in the various hospitals to supply such babies and urged medical professionals to help under such circumstances.
She said it was also important that mothers who had lost their babies were taken through some form of counselling before they are discharged.
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Tema.
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
