Leadership (Abuja)
31 March 2008
Abuja — A Consultant Obstetrician Gynaecologist, Dr Emily Nzeribe, at the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, yesterday suggested alternative method for abortion.
She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri that medical personnel in the country should be trained to perform safe pregnancy terminations, using the Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA).
Nzeribe also said that MVA had been approved by the WHO for the safe termination of unwanted pregnancies.
She said that the plastic instrument was better that the older method of terminating unwanted pregnancies known as Dilation and Curettage (D and C).
She said the method would check increasing maternal mortality rete in the country and would also help doctors and nurses carry out post abortion care more efficiently.
To reduce the grave health consequences and costs of unsafe abortions, she said more resources were needed to improve the quality of post-abortion care services for women with complications.
Nzeribe explained that improving knowledge about access to, and use of contraceptives would lower levels of unwanted pregnancies and abortion in Nigeria.
She said women that were empowered obtained safe abortions, while the poor ones resorted to unsafe methods.
Nzeribe said about 13 per cent of pregnancy related deaths were as a result of unsafe abortions.
She said that an estimated 760,000 abortions were performed each year in Nigeria and that 80, 000 of women that obtained the procedure died annually.
Nzeribe said maternal deaths related to abortion were preventable if safe procedures were available.
She noted that lack of access to safe and legal abortion services resulted in the death of many women each year.
Nzeribe said reproductive health indices of Nigeria was low and that it remained an issue to be addressed if Nigeria wished to attain the MDGs. (NAN)
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