Maternal Deaths, Teenage Pregnancies Stalk Mokhotlong

(MENAFN- The Post) MASERU – MOKHOTLONG'S Medical District Officer, Dr Mosa Tlahali, says their district is grappling with staggering statistics of maternal deaths compared to other districts of the country.

Dr Tlahali said this at the World Population Day celebration held in Mokhotlong recently.

The theme for this year's celebration was“Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world”.

Dr Tlahali said these statistics go up every year as per the Lesotho Health Demography Survey LHDS) results conducted every year.

For her, there are a myriad of factors contributing to this disturbing situation in the district.

Dr Tlahali said societal norms play a crucial role in this district resulting in maternal deaths.

She said girls get married at a young age and such marriages are not objected to because it is believed that“a girl has to be married”.

“When these girls are married at a tender age, their bodies are not strong enough to carry them during delivery,” Dr Tlahali said.

In most cases, she said, village chiefs hardly object to such marriages.

“Mokhotlong is in the highlands and is mostly rural,” Dr Tlahali said.

“The community in this district is steeped into tradition believing that a girl has to be married,” she said.

Dr Tlahali said the community believes that a girl has to be married and bear children.

What they have discovered as the ministry is that some children in the district are out of school.

She said those who are still in school dropout.

“They do not complete their studies because their parents get them married,” Dr Tlahali said, adding that parents get their children into early marriages so that they, the parents, benefit from such marriages.

So these early marriages lead to many teenage pregnancies in the district.

Regrettably, she said, the married teenagers do not benefit from these marriages but their parents who get bride price in return.

Dr Tlahali said she disagrees with a common narrative that the ongoing construction of the Polihali Dam is fuelling teenage pregnancy in the district.

The terrain of Mokhotlong and culture of this place are what contribute to the teenage pregnancies and maternal deaths in the district, she said.

Dr Tlahali said some pregnant mothers do not attend prenatal services at all while others come late.

Because of this failure, they are prone to diseases like high blood pressure which could otherwise be avoided should they come for the services.

Also, it is vital that the pregnant mothers be prepared for a loss of blood that they usually experience during delivery.

Dr Tlahali said this scenario leads to some mothers who die after 42 days of their delivery.

She pleaded with them to come for prenatal services.

She also pleaded with them that they should come to the waiting rooms when their delivery date is near.

She said the Ministry of Health engages in the outreach programmes where staff goes out to the pregnant mothers to help them with the health services.

It is the ministry's strategy that clinics go out to the pregnant mothers who are unable to visit the health centres, she said.

Dr Tlahali said they have struck a deal with some chiefs to help them with structures so that they use them on a monthly basis for check-ups on the pregnant mothers and other ordinary patients.

“We try to raise awareness mostly on youths who are mostly at risk,” she said.

But the public at large is also assisted through this awareness.

Village Health Workers who stay in the communities are yet another intervention that has been employed by the ministry to help pregnant mothers to visit the health centres.

Since these village workers live together with the community in their respective villages, they are able to monitor them on a daily basis.

Dr Tlahali said they had three lactating mothers who died last year before 42 days elapsed.

“Even one number is big for us,” she said.

Pregnant mothers in the highlands of Mokhotlong have to travel at least two hours to get to the health centres.

During the celebration, youths had brought along placards carrying different messages about Sexual and Reproductive Health Services (SRHS).

A long procession started from the Mokhotlong hospital to the district's Pitso ground where activities of the day unfolded.

Among the marchers were youths who had placards written with different messages.

The messages were written“I am a girl not your bride”,“Girls stop pleasing men with your bodies”,“Please wrap it before you dip it”, and“Youth avoid unprotected sex before marriage”.

Before the day's celebration, 30 youths were trained on SRHS by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Pulane Mothebesoane, 28, from Mokhotlong Tlhanyaku said she had a child at the age of 16 while she was in Grade 8.

Then she had no option but to drop out of school to raise her child assisted by his boyfriend.

But they were not married, only raising the child.

Her parents were eking out a living in neighbouring South Africa.

Mothebesoane said they were advised not to engage in unprotected sexual activities.

“We were also advised not to engage in early marriage,” she said.

The UNFPA Sexual and Reproductive Health Coordinator Blandina Motaung said people should not be told how many children they should have.

Motaung said the people should have children taking into consideration if the economy is good enough to cater for their children.

“People should have a decision on their SRHS,” she said, adding that people should have a right to whom they love.

The UNFPA Representative to Lesotho, Innocent Modisaotsile said the theme resonates deeply with the core of the UNFPA's mandate and their commitment to ensuring that every individual, especially young people, can exercise their fundamental human rights, including the right to bodily autonomy.

He said youth should make informed decisions about their lives and futures.

Modisaotsile said Lesotho continues to bear the heavy burden of high rates of HIV/ AIDS, disproportionately affecting adolescent girls and young women.

He said this epidemic not only poses a significant health threat but also exacerbates existing inequalities impacting their sexual and reproductive health, economic prospects and overall well-being.

“We support initiatives to keep girls in schools and end child marriages,” he said.

Modisaotsile said they want to reduce a burden of HIV among adolescents and young women and help young people shape their own destinies.

Majara Molupe

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