A leading maternal and reproductive health research NGO, the Maternal and Reproductive Health Collective (MRH Collective) through its MamaBase maternal health programme, has intensified efforts to reduce maternal and infant deaths by encouraging pregnant women to seek skilled healthcare services and deliver in health facilities.
Speaking during a community sensitisation programme at the Igbo-Owu primary health care centre in the Mushin area of Lagos on Wednesday, Atinuke Adenekan, Community Maternal Health Coordinator for MRH Collective, said the initiative was established to promote safe motherhood and ensure that both mothers and babies survive pregnancy and childbirth.According to her, the organisation was founded in 2007 by Professor Bosede Afolabi after she observed the high rate of maternal and infant deaths in Nigeria.
“She saw what was happening to many women. A woman could carry a pregnancy for nine months, only to be told at the end that the baby had died while she survived. We do not want that story anymore. That is why this organisation was established—to promote safe motherhood, where both mother and baby are alive and healthy at the end of pregnancy,” she said.
Adenekan explained that the programme, currently in its second phase, operates in 12 local government areas across Lagos State, including Mushin, Epe, Ikorodu, Alimosho, Ibeju-Lekki, Agege, Apapa and Ojo. She noted that the organisation also reaches remote riverine communities, often travelling by boat to provide support and advocacy services.She urged community members to encourage pregnant women to register for antenatal care, stressing that complications during pregnancy and childbirth can occur unexpectedly.
