Pemba woman gives birth in town center

Pemba woman gives birth in town center

Pemba, September 10, 2014,ZANIS – A thirty nine (39) year old woman of Kamunga village in Pemba district has given birth to a baby girl in the town center .

ZANIS reports that the woman was on her way to Pemba main community health center when she went into labour and delivered in the town center.

The incident happened today around 10:00 hours today near Habanyama Office complex, 100 meters away from the clinic.

The woman was assisted by some female passers-by who covered her with Chitenge materials for her privacy before she was picked up by an ambulance to the clinic.

Her village is located eleven (11) kilo metres away from Pemba town and according to the woman who was seemingly in shock, she was on her way to Monze hospital but decide to disembark from the bus when the pain severed and on her way to the clinic, she felt the baby coming out and decided to squat and deliver .

An eye witness Chimensa Phiri told ZANIS at the scene that she was alerted by a male passer-by that there was a woman who was struggling to deliver a baby.

“I was walking along this road when I met a man who alerted me that there was a woman who was struggling to deliver a baby along the same road, and I rushed there and found that she had already delivered; the baby actually had fallen on the ground and I picked it up and wrapped it in a chitenge and some women passers -by came through to cover the woman for privacy,” Ms Phiri narrated.

Acting Pemba District Medical Officer Vernon Maingaila confirmed the incident to ZANIS .

Mr Maingaila said that the woman had multi pregnancies (multi-para) and normally gives birth to big babies (usually 5kgs and above) and so was advised last month to go and deliver at the hospital (Monze Mission Hospital) when due because of  possible complications but she ignored the advice.

“You see our policy is that after the sixth baby, the woman is advised to deliver at the hospital and we referred her to Monze Hospital a month ago but she decided not to go, and again she came back for antenatal at the clinic yesterday and we reinforced it but she went back home instead and waited for the last minute when she felt the pain to take an action,” Mr.Maingaila stated.

Mr.Maingaila however confirmed that the conditions for both the mother and the baby were stable and that the medical staff was keeping a close eye on both of them.

He bemoaned the bad attitude of the women in the district especially from the rural areas of not wanting to deliver from health centers yet they had the capacity to handle the deliveries and that in the event of any complications, government ambulances were readily available to provide the service.