The FINANCIAL — Providing pregnant women in rural Uganda access to ultrasound screenings resulted in a “magnet effect” on overall improved quality of maternal and newborn care, according to a recent study by Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest neonatal mortality rate (32 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2012) and accounts for 38 percent of neonatal deaths globally. Concomitantly, the maternal mortality rate is estimated at 500 deaths per 1,000,000 live births representing 162,000 maternal deaths annually.
The study, implemented at Nawanyago Health Centre III, showed increases in the number of women attending antenatal visits and in husbands taking a more active role in health choices surrounding pregnancy for the very first time. It also showed a near-doubling of newborns delivered by skilled health care workers.
“The availability of a low-cost, accessible and affordable ultrasound program may assist progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5 by encouraging women in a rural environment to come to a health care facility for skilled antenatal care and delivery assistance instead of utilizing more traditional methods,” said Peter van de Ven, general manager, Philips Healthcare Africa.
Improving maternal health is Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG) of the United Nations Millennium Declaration: a road map of goals to address poverty widely prevalent in the world’s developing nations. Two targets were selected to monitor progress towards MDG 5 by the 2015 deadline: 1) reducing the maternal mortality ratio by 75 percent and; 2) increasing the proportion of births attended by skilled health care personnel by 90 percent.
Ugandan women face a 1 in 49 lifetime risk of dying during childbirth. In the U.S., the lifetime risk is 1 in 2,400. While most Ugandan women go to a health clinic once to initially confirm their pregnancy, less than half return for additional antenatal care or for skilled deliveries. Additionally, while public health efforts have focused on encouraging women in Uganda to give birth with a skilled birth attendant in attendance, overall percentage of attended births has increased only slightly in the last few years, according to Koninklijke Philips N.V.
“As a technology company dedicated to creating the future of health care, we are driven to help solve the world’s toughest clinical challenges through meaningful innovation,” said Gene Saragnese, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Philips Imaging Systems. “Supporting access to care in a country like Uganda means we have a chance to do things differently; to transform the dynamic and create solutions that work for those who will benefit the most,” Saragnese added.
In 2010, a program was put in place by Imaging the World in collaboration with Philips to provide access to basic antenatal ultrasound at Nawanyago Health Centre III in Uganda. Under this program, midwives were trained in the Imaging the World ultrasound screening protocol and the resulting increase in antenatal care visits actually allowed for opportunities for maternal education regarding safe birthing and home care practices. Since program inception, researchers report detection of previously undiagnosed complications such as placenta previa, breech presentation, multiples, molar pregnancy and low fluid levels. All patients requiring hospital care were referred to district and regional hospitals.
In addition, to improve participation in ultrasound screenings, researchers observed positive clinical trends in other aspects of care including antenatal visits and newborn deliveries. The study published in PLOS described the “magnet effect” associated with the introduction of antenatal ultrasound in an undeveloped region such as Uganda.
An additional observation of the study found that husbands were interested in watching the ultrasound scan of their child and attending antenatal visits. This becomes increasingly important considering men are the family health care decision makers in Uganda.
Through local and international partnerships, Philips also works to provide financing solutions, technical assistance and support to strengthen health systems, and a training framework to increase the output of trained and skilled health care professionals in all regions including African countries, according to Koninklijke Philips N.V.
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