Day pregnant women caused a stir in Bayelsa

OVER 1,000 pregnant women thronged the Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha Memorial Hall in Yengoa, Bayelsa State, recently. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Pregnancies at various stages competed to gain an entrance and a space into the expansive hall. Why would such number of pregnant women from different parts of the state converge at a particular location in Yenagoa? In fact, passers-by demanded to know the reason for such an assemblage. Mrs. Dumebi Jeftha was one of the pregnant women. She simply said she came to receive the N3000 monthly allowance promised all pregnant women by the governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson. “We were asked to come and collect the money the governor promised us.

They told us that the government would begin to pay the money today. That is why l came to collect mine”, she said as she walked into the congested hall. But Patience Thomas, another heavily pregnant woman, tried to explain the reason for the assembly better. She said sometimes in July, 2018, the governor launched a safe motherhood programme. Part of the programme, according to her, was a promise by the governor to pay pregnant women in the state N3000 monthly. She said the money was supposed to be an incentive to attract women to government-owned health centers and reduce the high incidence of maternal and infant mortality rates in the state. Patience added: “We were told that today is the beginning of the scheme to transfer the cash to us. They said they would give us the cash today. That is the reason you see pregnant women all over the place.

More are still on their way”. Indeed, the hall was not enough to contain the number of pregnant women who turned up to collect the money. The car parks, verandas, lobbies and the entire surroundings were taken over by women with pot bellies. It was not just the money that brought them. They were in for the total package of the motherhood initiative. Dickson,in a policy statement, made a commitment to cater for all pregnant women in the state. Any woman that conceives becomes a property of the state. The only caveat is that the woman must go to a nearby government health centre, register her pregnancy and regularly attend her engagements with health experts in the clinic. Every medical engagement, drugs and other caregiving are free and completely paid for by the state.

The government in addition provides each woman with N3000 monthly to facilitate her transport to the health centre. No wonder, the women grinned and beamed with smiles at the hall. Most of them viewed Dickson as their caring ‘husband’. The only job of their legal husbands is to get them pregnant. Dickson takes over, nurtures them and ensures they are delivered of their babies safely. He also takes care of their postnatal treatments. “The governor is now our caring husband”, one of them, who identified herself as Esther said. “Pregnancy does not start and end with conception. The burden of pregnancy is taking care of it till birth. And it is always difficult most times, especially for some of us who are not rich.

“That is why in most cases we opt for the cheapest method of care by visiting traditional birth attendants. Others don’t event do any form of ante natal until their pregnancies mature. It is always risky and that is why some women die during birth. “Your husband is expected to take care of your pregnancy till the birth of the child. But with this initiative of our governor, he has taken over that role. So, it is right for us to also call him our husband. We are grateful to him”. The women had their eyes on the stage where the safe motherhood scheme and free cash transfer was launched. They watched various presentations from medical experts, including the President, Federation of African Medical Students Association (FAMSA), Esite Winifred, on the required health practices for safe motherhood.

The pregnant women also watched educative drama on dangerous practices and superstitious beliefs, including belief in witchcraft hindering healthy motherhood in most remote villages. The awardwinning State Council for Arts and Culture was in its best during the drama. They learnt from various remarks from health experts such as the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu; the National Safe Motherhood Officer, Dr. Samuel Oyeniyi; World Health Organisation (WHO); United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF); Chairman, Bayelsa State Primary Healthcare Board, Mrs. Victoria Denenu and the House Committee Chairman on Health, Koku Obiyai. However, the remarks by the Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, who was the special guest of honour for the programme, moved the pregnant women to appreciate the essence of the scheme.

Okowa, who is also a trained medical doctor, praised Dickson for all his interventions in the health sector, including operating a health insurance scheme in the state, adding that only Bayelsa is running the safe motherhood scheme in the country. He said his inquiries revealed that Dickson provided necessary health infrastructure to drive the safe motherhood and health insurance schemes. Okowa said with 105 health centers and 40 hospitals across the state, pregnant women would have unfettered access to quality healthcare. But he also warned against abusing the scheme. He said the scheme should not be viewed as an opportunity for women to give birth recklessly.

Okowa advised that while taking advantage of the programme, women should also abide by the rules of child spacing for healthy motherhood. He said: “The safe motherhood scheme is very noble. I think that only Bayelsa State is running this kind of scheme. I thank the governor for starting a health insurance scheme in the state. “Only about four states in this country are running a health insurance scheme. But Governor Dickson has taken it beyond the health insurance by providing stipends that can make mothers live healthier lives. If you want to really touch the life of any family, just touch the life of the mother. “I thank the governor for recognising the family as a unit.

The money that comes every month does not mean that women should be giving birth as regular intervals. It is not medically right. We want to plead with out women and men that there is what we call birth spacing. For the health of the woman and the home, there should be birth spacing”. Addressing Dickson, Okowa said: “What you have done today is a wonderful programme. It is a bold step that you have taken. It is going to cause the state a lot of money on monthly basis. “But it is a programme that no other programme can be equal to it. It is better than road construction and any other thing. You are giving life to a family. The life you are giving is to the poorest people in the society. Those are the people that need the impacts of the government. They are the people that you touch. When you touch the poor, you touch the heart of God”.

Dickson said he was worried by the high maternal and infant mortality rate in Bayelsa. He said his desire to deal with the issue compelled him to convene a summit on safe motherhood on July 31, 2018. He said after all deliberations, he made policy statements on the way forward, which included taking over the responsibility of catering for registered pregnant women in the state. He said since that day, his medical team went to work. The team, in conjunction with the Information Ministry, headed by Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, created awareness on the programme. He said all health facilities across the state were equipped to ensure the realization of the scheme’s objectives. Dickson said: “A lot of work has been done in the area of sensitization. There is still a need for constant enlightenment. A number of the causes of death attributed to witchcraft are as a result of lack of knowledge. “So, we have a lot of work to do to educate our people on the need to register for ante-natal services and to deliver in the hands of a trained healthcare provider.

We are here to demonstrate the policy that was announced. “What we held in July was a summit. But we have gathered for the official launch of that programme. We made an announcement of N3000 allowance to every pregnant woman in Bayelsa. “We made it clear that the money was not just to be giving to every woman that is pregnant, you have to first go to the healthcare delivery centre. We have enough healthcare facilities for all our pregnant women to be attended to”. The governor encouraged all the pregnant women in the state to register to enable them qualify for the monthly cash transfers and other ante-natal and neonatal care.

Addressing the pregnant women, he said: “Once you are registered and it is confirmed through basic tests that you are organ ant, you are automatically eligible to N3000 every month. It is your right and you don’t need to beg anybody for it. But be sure we are following up on the attendance. “Once you register, you won’t get the money until there is evidence that you have registered. Your regular attendance at the healthcare provider will determine whether you will continue all through your pregnancy to receive the money. We want to monitor the attendance”. Furthermore, the pregnant women appreciated Dr. Rachel, the governor’s wife, for supporting the programme. Mrs. Dickson thanked her husband for carrying all the women along and appealed to the women to take advantage of the opportunity.