The Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate (TMHD) has held its annual performance review with a call on midwives, obstetricians, and gynaecologists to ensure that pregnant women have their counselling sessions with nutritionists.
This follows a worrying trend of high anaemia in pregnancy documented by the Directorate in 2024, raising concerns among health practitioners.
Mr. Samuel Atuahene Antwi, the TMHD Nutrition Officer, said, “Every pregnant woman must go through the nutrition unit at least once every trimester.”
Mr. Antwi said research conducted at some of the antenatal clinics revealed that most of the pregnant women had their nutrition section of their maternal records empty, an indication that they had not been having their sessions with the nutritionist attached to their health institutions.
He suggested that the expectant mothers should be directed to the nutritionist to have their session instead of letting them sit at the antenatal clinics for hours waiting to see the midwives.
“We can use the waiting period for them to see the nutritionist. Anaemia in pregnancy is as a result of inadequate dietary intake. We must ensure that they get the nutrition counselling so they can eat well,” he stressed.
On the issue of the cost of iron supplements prescribed for the expectant mothers, he said some of the supplements were expensive, therefore advising that they should be given the ones available on the national health insurance to help them cut down on their expenses.
The nutritionist stated that “we should revert to the safe motherhood protocols to give what the NHIS provides, and low-priced alternatives should be explored.”
He stressed that if the pregnant women put all their money into buying expensive iron supplements and did not eat well, there would be no improvement in their haemoglobin level, and anaemia in pregnancy would still exist.
Mr. Antwi advised that pregnant women must be encouraged to eat iron-rich foods and make good use of turkey berries, which are more affordable and help boost the production of blood.
He announced that they would soon be starting the turkey-berries project at Tema Manhean to ensure anaemia in pregnancy was dealt with.
Dr. Sally Quartey, the Tema Metropolitan Director of Health Services, said the performance review was aimed at taking stock of the previous year and putting in measures to improve health care in the area.
The theme for the review was “Leveraging Partnerships and Strengthening Governance Systems to Advance Safety and Quality and Improve Service Delivery.”
GNA
