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Some pregnant women allege that they no longer get proper care during antenatal visits.
They say that health workers are afraid to touch or come close to them for fear of contracting COVID-19.
This is a cause for concern, maternal and child health experts say, as the situation may increase Nigeria’s already high maternal and infant mortality rate.
PUNCH HealthWise spoke with a handful of pregnant women, who claim that health workers ask them to do the health checks themselves.
A 39-year-old mother of two who is pregnant with her third baby, Mrs. Chinyere Onwuka, told our Correspondent that she cannot compare the current antenatal care with her two previous pregnancies.
IMSUTH doctors, govt trade blame over hazard allowances as eight-month strike continues
Angela Onwuzoo
Resident doctors at the Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu, say the Governor Hope Uzodinma administration has not paid them any COVID-19 hazard allowance, despite setting up an isolation centre at the institution for the treatment and management of those who tested positive for the virus.
The resident doctors have been on strike for over seven months now to press home their various demands bordering on incomplete salary payment, non-implementation of the revised 2014 Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, and loss of accreditation for undergraduate medical education at Imo State University, among others.
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Angela Onwuzoo
Researchers have asked pregnant women infected with gonorrhea not to ignore it, warning that the sexually-transmitted infection has adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes if left untreated.
The experts said untreated gonorrhea in pregnancy may likely cause repeated miscarriage; and eye infection in children where such pregnancies are carried to term.
This might lead to blindness in the newborn, they warn.
The experts also assert that pregnant women with gonorrhea are at risk of pre-term birth a leading cause of under-five mortality globally, according to the World Health Organisation.
Speaking with
PUNCH Healthwise, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Dr. Ochuwa Babah, said gonorrhea is worth treating among expectant mothers, considering the complications associated with it if left untreated.