Transition Between Pregnancy and Birth (2)

Unfortunately, some mothers refuse consent for an operation because of cultural reasons. It is either that other women would look at them as weaklings because they could not put to bed normally or that they do not want to have a scar on their abdomen. In either case, it is better to have a healthy baby than to listen to other peoples’ comments or have a clean abdomen without a scar but a damaged baby that cannot go to school and remain an embarrassment and burden to the family for life. The lives of the mothers are also put at a high risk when they refuse to have an operation. Many mothers have died in the process leaving their precious babies motherless. The better option is very obvious in these situations.

The other conditions that may lead to difficult deliveries include bad positioning of the baby. For instance, a baby may be lying across (transverse) in the womb instead of the head being in the pelvis as is usually the case. Some babies may have their lower limbs and buttocks in the pelvis (breech). In some cases, the head may be abnormally big, usually due to infections inside the womb affecting the brain, or malformations especially of the brain during development in the womb. ALL these conditions can be detected by good ante natal care especially with recently introduced equipment like the Ultrasound and other equipment that monitor the baby and the mother before and during labour. This goes a long way to promote safe delivery of the baby and the mothers’ good health.

It may also be important here to mention spiritual reasons as some of the reasons why some women do not want to have any medical intervention in form of an operation. They think it is ‘exercising faith’ to go into labour and deliver ‘like Hebrew women’ some of them would say.(Exodus 1:19). I believe that nothing can be further from the truth. Faith is a lifestyle and should not be practiced only when we feel like avoiding a situation or when there is trouble. I also believe that our Creator is very interested in mother and baby’s safety after delivery. He gave the knowledge for the developments we have in all fields of medicine to help mankind. Be sure He is supporting your faith action and that you have always been used to His voice before taking your faith decision.

Since we have earlier mentioned malformations in this discussion, it may be important to advice mothers to avoid taking medications not approved by their doctors, herbs and roots during pregnancy to avoid adverse effects on the babies. Some medications are well known for their adverse effects on the newborn babies and have been banned from distribution. Others are still in circulation because of their usefulness in other disease conditions but are not to be taken during pregnancy. In the case of roots and herbs, it is advisable that they be avoided completely during pregnancy for the safety of the baby. This is simply because most of them have not been adequately tested to know whether they affect the baby in any way. I have personally in my practice seen two babies whose mothers admitted to taking herbs to keep the babies small so that delivery will be easier. However, both babies did not survive apparently because of their very low birth weights and possibly because of possible damage to the vital internal organs by the herbs the mothers ingested during pregnancy. The small size of the babies could mean that some of the internal organs could also be equally too small to function effectively

Mothers should also endeavour to feed well during pregnancy; taking food that is rich in proteins, iron and vitamins. Our normal local food in Nigeria usually contains enough carbohydrates. Vitamins may be very important in the formation of tissues and organs of the unborn child. A recent survey carried out in the United States indicates that incidence of spina bifida (a malformation of the spine and the spinal cord which can cripple a child) can be reduced by as much as 85% if the mother of the baby takes adequate quantities of folic acid during pregnancy.

Professor Adimora is the medical director of Favouredchild Clinic, Enugu. A Consultant Paediatrician with the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu and Senior Lecturer in the department of paediatrics, college of medicine, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria. A bible teacher. He is also the author of the book 'Anxieties of a young mother'. Author’s website: www.authorsden.com/gilbertadimora E:mal: [email protected]