In celebration of the International Women day, Channels Television’s weekend breakfast show centered its discussion on the negative impact of Maternal Mortality in Africa.

With a reported 545-630 cases of mortality out of 1000 births in both rural and urban centres, health professionals were asked to throw light on the efforts put in place to reduce the deaths in Nigeria.

Reacting, former physician to late business mogul and politician, MKO Abiola, Dr. Yemi Falomo called on women to be conscious of the changes in their bodies and visit the hospital for ante natal clinic.

He said women must visit the ante natal clinics as soon as she discovers that she is pregnant. The clinic helps to save a lot of problems and it helps her to cope with changes in her body and prepares her for child birth.

Speaking in the same vein, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris charged pregnant women to avoid some factors that leads to maternal mortality.

The factors, according to the commissioner, include:

I. Delay in accessing care or seeking care which could be as a result of ignorance of the fact that they are pregnant, lack of education and poverty.

II. Delay in accessing care of facility itself due to transportation, money, quality of staff, personnel and power

Motherhood is supposed to be a thing of joy and fulfilling experience but it is associated with suffering and ill health and sometimes death in Africa and particularly Nigeria.