Increasing awareness of health care issues, ensuring proper prenatal care, and promoting family planning is among the important issues that need to be addressed. In addition, women must be able to take charge of their healthcare.
Family Planning
Providing safe and effective family planning to women empowers them to manage their reproductive health. It helps prevent premature pregnancy, lowers death, and improves children’s health. In addition, it helps women to participate better in the economy. It also gives them control over their family size and timing. However, Ehsan Bayat emphasized that many developing countries still lack access to safe family planning. There are two main reasons: lack of information about family planning options and lack of support from family, friends, and partners. Lack of access to family planning means women are left to make their own future decisions.
Providing safe and effective family planning is essential to primary health care. It reduces poverty and increases women’s participation in the economy. It also prevents premature pregnancy, lowers the death rate, and prevents wasting. Family planning is also a key contributor to healthy nutritional outcomes for newborns.
Prenatal Check-Ups
During pregnancy, healthcare providers usually physically examine the pregnant woman. They check blood pressure, weight, and urine. They also may do an ultrasound. The ultrasound will help the provider understand how the baby develops in the womb. It can also tell the gender of the baby. Women may be referred to a specialist if there are pregnancy complications. Prenatal check-ups help prevent complications and identify chronic conditions. During prenatal care, the provider also offers education about pregnancy and childbirth. Prenatal care is the most common source of education about pregnancy in the United States. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends regularly scheduled visits.
Skilled Attendance At Birth
Increasing skilled attendance at delivery is a preventative measure that could reduce maternal mortality. It is a critical link in the mother-baby unit and can save lives. Skilled attendance at delivery can detect major complications and provide life-saving interventions during childbirth. It can reduce maternal mortality by 16 to 33%. Skilled attendance can also increase neonatal survival. In Asia and Latin America, skilled attendance at delivery is protective against neonatal mortality on the first day of life. The present study identified and studied factors associated with the non-use of skilled birth attendants in rural Ghana. These include socioeconomic factors, health facilities, and geographic location. These factors influence the decision to seek skilled care during childbirth.
Emergency Obstetric Care
During pregnancy, about 15% of women develop obstetric complications. These complications can range from infections and hypertension to bleeding and obstructed labor. Without rapid intervention, these complications can lead to maternal death. It is, therefore, important that women have access to timely obstetric care. Emergency obstetric care (EmOC) is a service that aims to manage potentially life-threatening complications. It can involve administering medicines, fetal extractions, and Caesarean sections. In addition, it can include obstetric blood transfusions, manual vacuum extraction, and assisted vaginal delivery. It is an evidence-based service that can be provided in the emergency room. Emergency obstetric care is only sometimes available in all countries. Hence, many factors hinder women’s access to this healthcare service. These barriers can range from the facility level to socioeconomic factors. It is, therefore, important to conduct research that focuses on eliminating these barriers.
Barriers To Seeking Care
Identifying and understanding the barriers to seeking care for women is an essential first step in reducing health inequities. This is a complex issue because there are several barriers to women’s health. Some are financial, others practical, and others social. In many cases, women are unaware of the barriers that might prevent them from accessing necessary care. The most popular of these is the financial barrier. Studies have shown that many women report a financial barrier to seeking care. This is particularly true in rural areas. The most important financial barrier is limited personal funds. More than a third of women reported experiencing this obstacle.
