Prenatal Care in the US and Nigeria

I have a niece that was born 3 months premature.  She spent those three months in an incubator and my sister had to stay in the Ronald McDonald house for that time frame.  My sister lived 3 hours away and she needed to be close to her daughter and the Ronald McDonald house was a true blessing for her.  If you ever go into McDonalds please donate to the box, this service helps a lot of families in time of hardship and need.  My niece had to have quite a few blood transfusions and I believe she is not able to have anymore.  She had to receive the RSV shots every year and they wanted to give her steroid shots to help her grow, but my sister refused.  My niece had been given so much medication and steroids before and my sister wanted my niece to be free from medication.  Without the fast acting doctors that delivered her, the helicopter that transported her to the children’s hospital, and the children’s hospital my niece would not be alive today.  She weighed 1lb and 6 ozs.    The research that has been done and the studies with regards to what premature infants need are remarkable.  Those nurses and doctors are skilled and masterful when it comes to taking care of those little babies.  It is also amazing to see the types of machines and tools that are used to ensure the premature babies can breathe and function outside the womb.  My niece could lie in my dad’s hand, she was that little.  My niece is still very little and has some reading comprehension difficulties, but she is 12 and a little spit fire. 

I decided to learn about the prenatal care and birth rates for Nigeria, Africa.  It seems that the lack of medical care, access to medical facilities, lack of access to and or money for medication, and money for treatment are all a large problem for women in Nigeria.  “Nigeria, in the past few years has experienced some worsening of child mortality.” (The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health)  Anti-malaria medication is a big need for the people of Nigeria, especially expecting mothers, but it seem that accessing this medication and having money to pay for it is a rising problem.  So many expectant mothers do not receive prenatal care.  Over two third of expectant mothers still deliver at home because they do not have the money or a way to access a medical facility.  Mid-wives, nurses, and doctors only attend one third of the births in Nigeria.  This explains the “persisting low numbers of births occurring in health facilities and the low number of births attended by trained healthcare service providers.” (The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health)  The infant mortality rate is at 100 per 1000 in 2003 and it was 87 in 1990.  It seems to be a rising epidemic in Nigeria.  The high mortality rates and the lack of access to or use of quality delivery services is an issue of immense importance in Nigeria.  Mid-wives and nurses are the closest prenatal care that most women in Nigeria area able to afford and have access too.  “Only six in ten mothers receive antenatal care from a trained medical professional.” (The Partnership for Maternal Newborn & Child Health)  If expectant mothers received prenatal care then the major causes of neonatal mortality in “Nigeria—neonatal tetanus, malaria, and maternal anemia,” (The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health) can be prevented.  Nigeria is a poor country with severe consequences for the lack of prenatal care.  Once women have their children it is rare that they live past the age of 5.  “The under-five mortality ratio in Nigeria is 201 per 1000 live births meaning that one in five Nigerian children never reach the age of 5.” (The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health)  Infant deaths account for half of child mortality.  Nigeria suffers from a lack of prenatal care for pregnant women and for regular health care for infants and children.  Only 13% of immunizations occur for children between 12-22 months.  Nigeria has the lowest vaccination rate.  Children also suffer and die from acute respiratory infections and diarrhea. 

It is clear to me that the health care and facilities readily available for families in the United States is a great account of how wonderful our country is.  It is very hard to realize how incredibly difficult it is for expecting mothers to receive prenatal care and even have care for their newborn.  Having a child in Nigeria is very different from having a child in the United States.  It is getting better with the help and cooperation from the Partnership Grant.  “The Nigerian Ministry of Health has been tasked with coordinating actions and partners in accelerating the reduction in maternal, newborn and child mortality.” (The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health)  In 2007 the Nigerian Ministry of Health held a conference and collaborated with the MNCH to launch the national Nigeria Partnership for Maternal Newborn and Child Health.  This will help expectant mothers and the children of Nigeria receive the health services and care that they so desperately need.  I see some similarities in the health care for families in Nigeria and in the United States.  Not all families can afford prenatal care or health services for their children, but each state in the United States does offer medical assistance for low income families so they can receive the care needed.  In Nigeria there is no health care established for low income families and in turn the mortality rate for children is very high.  That is a big difference from the United States.  If my sister had her daughter in Nigeria, she probably would of died along with her daughter.  The overal development for children as you can see in the US is very high for them to survive after birth.  The extension of their overal development as they grow older highly depends on their SES, culture, and home environment.  In Nigeria the overall development for children to survive after birth is very low and their survival rate past the age of 5 is extremely low too.  Hopefully the Partnership Grant and the other chartities seen in the video will increase Nigerian children's development from birth and above the age of 5.   

References

Retrieved from The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health website: http://www.who.int/pmnch/activities/countries/nigeria/en/index1.html

Retrieved from You Tube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=LEPfECoMj8k