A female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member serving in Abuja, Ms. Halimat Jimoh, has charged
Families have been charged on the need to help women stay healthy during pregnancy.
At least, 50 expectant mothers at a Primary Health Care Centre in Lugbe, Abuja were provided with lifesaving supplies and medical support through an outreach led by the corps member under The Midwife Next Door Foundation.
Beneficiaries, including their husbands, have described the gesture as a timely act of philanthropy given current economic realities.
In a statement issued by Ms. Jimoh, the CEO of the foundation, the outreach was a pet project to give back to the society through "the facilitation of knowledge-sharing sessions" as a professional mid-wife.
She noted that women were vulnerable during pregnancy, and required intensive care, "especially first time mothers."
She said, "Last week Wednesday when my team staged an outreach tagged MamaSafe Initiative, the idea was to help as many expectant mums as possible to stay healthy. We worked in partnership with the healthcare centre, and it was a success.
“We simply wanted to contribute our quota to our immediate community. One thing we have discovered is that pregnant women were vulnerable, and they deserved to be supported, especially by their immediate families," she explained.
“Anyone carrying a life is in a critical state, and requires extra monitoring routine to ensure both mother and child are safe. Family support during pregnancy is crucial.”
Speaking further on the outreach, Ms Jimoh noted that the MamaSafe initiative had three components which included distribution of clean-birth kits to expectant mothers, equipping the clinic with an Emergency Maternal Care Kit, and launching a digital health support community.
"In a plural society like ours, fingers are not equal. Hence, the community and government must always rise up to support these bloc of people in the society.
"The clean-birth kits we distributed contained essential items such as maternity pads, cord clamps, gloves, and diapers. Our goal is to help reduce infection and complications during childbirth."
Ms. Jimoh further noted that a session on "Recognising Danger Signs in Pregnancy and Childbirth and What to Do" was facilitated by Mrs. Cecilia Samuel, a seasoned maternal health educator with participants given an opportunity to ask questions, while learning from actionable steps shared during the session for safer pregnancies.
“We didn’t just do the talking. We also gave these women opportunity to express their concerns and challenges. We are happy that they benefited from the little initiative, and are hopeful that we can continue the initiative for greater impact.”
Despite still serving the country as a corps member, Ms Jimoh, a trained midwife and maternal health advocate, believes that every birth should be a celebration.
"Service to humanity should not wait for tomorrow. It begins with what we can do today," she said.
Speaking on behalf of beneficiaries, a husband who had accompanied his wife to the centre described the gesture as timely, and expressed gratitude to the foundation.
He said, “Fathers also carry a lot of stress during this time, and this initiative is a support for us as well.”
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