Expecting Mothers In Rural Zimbabwe Face Harsh Conditions In Maternity Waiting Homes
Expecting mothers in Zimbabwe’s rural areas are often forced to sleep on the floor due to a lack of beds and water in the waiting shelters at public referral hospitals, according to Members of Parliament.
During Wednesday’s question and answer session, MPs revealed that pregnant women in maternity waiting homes (MWHs) are required to cook for themselves and fetch their own water, even as they approach their delivery dates.
MWHs are designed to provide accommodation for high-risk women in the final weeks of pregnancy, so they can stay near hospitals with essential obstetric facilities.
Tabeth Murwira, a proportional representative Member of Parliament, asked Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Sleiman Kwidini what measures the government had in place to address this issue.
Another MP, Sithabisiwe Moyo, said that expecting mothers are left to sleep on cold floors without food at MWHs. She said:
Most of the time, these shelters lack security, and the women are forced to lie on the floor.
Expecting mothers need a proper place to rest and be admitted to hospitals, not just an empty room without bedding.
These mothers are also not provided with food; they are told to find their own. Many of them come from distant areas.
In response, Kwidini acknowledged the challenges faced by expectant mothers and said that the ministry is working to improve the situation. He said:
It is true that women who want to give birth at the hospital often arrive to find that the waiting rooms have no beds or food.
The Ministry of Health is working tirelessly, day and night, to address this issue, alongside the Ministry of Public and Social Welfare, to provide food for the maternity wings.
We are also working to acquire more comfortable beds.
However, Kwidini said that providing water to hospitals falls outside his ministry’s mandate.
He also urged lawmakers to allocate part of their Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to help build and maintain maternity shelters in their constituencies.
More: ZimLive
Tags
