21 WAYS TO PREVENT DEATH AFTER CHILD BIRTH

Several cases of death of mothers post-delivery are now on the increase and some of these cases are due to the lifestyle of the woman before, during and even after childbirth.

Listed below are steps to take in order to prevent the death of the mother after delivery:

MENTAL PREPARATION: a lot of people take this for granted, they believe it is just enough to know that someday; probably soon or later in their lives pregnancy will happen. This is just a general thing but there must be emotional preparation because a lot of things will change once you get pregnant, and so, you must prepare your mind for what is coming.
FINANCIAL PREPARATION: this rare truth can never be overemphasized; you need money, kudi, ego, owo; whatever it’s called in your native language at every stage of the pregnancy. There will be many bills to pay once you get pregnant because you just have to stay healthy, look radiant and beautiful
VAGINAL HEALTH: this is something serious but many people overlook it and don’t even think of the possibility something might be wrong with their reproductive system. As a woman, you need to check with your Doctor if there is any strange thing you are feeling in your private part because urinary infection of any kind can get worse during pregnancy. So, the best thing to do is to check with your health officer if you are okay and if there is anything diagnosed, make sure it is well treated before pregnancy
GOOD DIET BEFORE PREGNANCY: as the common saying goes ‘you are what you eat’, it is very important to lead a good life by feeding well. It is not a matter of the quantity but the quality of the food. Don’t just feed to be full but feed to stay healthy in preparation for pregnancy. Let your meal contain all the six classes of food in their right proportions.
CHILD PLANNING: this is a discussion you must have with your husband even before pregnancy. You should know how many children you are going to give birth to before they start coming
CHILD SPACING: you need to practice child spacing for a lot of reasons of which the most important is for your body to fully recover from the blood lost during the previous delivery. Medical Practitioners advice women to stay 2 years after each birth for full body recuperation.
GOOD DIET DURING PREGNANCY: this stage of your life is a very critical one that needs to be handled with utmost care and you must love yourself enough to eat well. Remember, you are passing some element to your unborn child to be healthy and survive as well; so you cannot afford to eat just anything or junks. During pregnancy, besides eating the food you might see as normal, eating fruits and vegetables is very important. Make sure to eat fruits in season, trust me they are just what you need for that period.
DON’T BE LAZY: except in the case where your Doctor gives an instruction that you shouldn’t work for a particular number of days or weeks, make sure you are not idle. Find something to do; don’t use your pregnancy as an excuse to be lazy. As much as you work, take enough rest as at when due. Have this at the back of your mind; it is pregnancy and not a disease.
DON’T LIVE A SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE: you will actually be harming yourself if you don’t exercise using pregnancy as an excuse. It will help with weight control. Tell your Doctor before you start though, there are pregnancy-specific exercise which will help during pregnancy, delivery and after childbirth to keep your body in shape.
ATTEND ANTENATAL: whether you are busy, a career woman or not, keep to your antenatal days. Important information is passed during these days and it will not be good if you miss it.
DON’T JOKE WITH YOUR DRUGS: I have seen some pregnant women complain about how they hate to take drugs and so, skip their drugs. Don’t do this as you will be hurting yourself and the outcome won’t be good. At each trimester, there are drugs given to be taken for the normal growth of the baby, normal body functioning of the mother, even those that will help during delivery and after. Be diligent in taking your drugs. Also, it is very important not to take drugs not prescribed by your Doctor.
STAY AWAY FROM SECOND HAND SMOKE: this will not only affect you, but it affects your baby also. Do not smoke or drink alcohol and as much as possible, don’t inhale smoke from any smoker.
DON’T SKIP APPOINTMENTS: whenever you have an appointment with your Doctor, please don’t miss it. Even when you are okay and you know nothing is wrong with you, even if it is to fulfill all righteousness, go there and fulfill it
AVOID LATE HOUR RUSH: shop for your baby things on time, it will not be good for you to do this when you are very close to your delivery date.
GOOD HYGIENE: this is very important, a very good personal hygiene and even environmental hygiene will go a long way to fend off death. It is from something as little as cutting your nails, making your hair (it could be something small but don’t leave your hair to be smelling or unkempt), taking your bath, keeping your surroundings clean in order to prevent mosquitoes etc.
BE HEALTH CONSCIOUS: always be at alert, whenever you notice something strange in your system, run to the hospital.
DON’T BE SUPERFICIAL: don’t use your time jesting away or watching movies that will not add anything to you. Instead, read books that can help you, move very close to people with like mind who have gone through this stage before, surf the net if need be, remember google is always your friend and maximize the benefit of social media to your advantage- join groups that will meet your need both pre-pregnancy and post-pregnancy.
STAY HYDRATED: this is one very important aspect of staying healthy and yet not expensive. Please, drink enough water as need be. Especially during pregnancy, as you know, you urinate often so you also need to replace the fluid and the best way to do this, is by taking clean water.
GOOD DIET AFTER CHILD BIRTH: after child birth, feed very well and feed healthy. Take food that will allow for easy breast milk flow. Decide on time whether you are doing exclusive or not.
ADEQUATE REST AFTER CHILD BIRTH: don’t joke with your relaxation time that is why you will need somebody around to help you at this early stage before your body fully recovers. Lack of rest or not taking enough rest after delivery is a risk factor for mothers because your body has gone through a lot of changes in the space of nine months, and so, needs to come back alive and healthy.
INVOLVE GOD: this is the chief of all, carry God along every step of the road to delivery. He knows what is inside, how the foetus is doing and what you need at every stage.