Dar Es Salaam — FRIDAY is for most workers a time for a prospective restful and joyous weekend. Unfortunately for mothers, it is the saddest day because that is when most of them die.

Regional Medical Officer Dr Godfrey Mtey revealed to a recent symposium in Dar es Salaam the sad finding from a research in the area.

"An interesting finding was on maternal deaths occurrences on Fridays which was 31.8 per cent, equal to seven out of 22 during a year.

Total deliveries on Fridays stood at 1,513, a figure that is 15 per cent," says Regional Medical Officer Dr Godfey Mtey.

Dr Mtey was presenting a research on maternal deaths to the symposium that was jointly organized by Muhimbili University of Health Allied Sciences (MUHAS) and Harvard School of Public Health.

The research was carried out in December 2009 and showed that most deaths occur on Fridays, quite a challenge to other health service providers at the meeting. The meeting took place last week.

Different health stakeholders within and outside the country jointly organized the symposium which focused on Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health in Tanzania (MNCH).

Dr Mtey said that there was a significant difference between maternal deaths occurring on Fridays and those occurring on other days of the week in the year 2009.

"Deliveries on Fridays were not different from the expected average of deliveries each day of the week which would have been 1,445 (14.3 per cent).

Thus if expected maternal deaths were also to be distributed equally over each day of the week then the expected ratio would have been 3.14 (14.29 per cent) instead of 31.8 per cent," he said.

Maternal, Newborn and Child deaths are still high and the problem a major challenge to the health care delivery system within the region. The average number of deliveries is 30 to 40 per day with a caesarean section rate of 16 per cent.

"One would also wish to follow up on that to find out whether other years have similar trends. However, this observation alone calls for further detailed follow up to identify the reasons behind, something that was beyond the scope of this paper," Dr Mtey observed.

In collaboration with other regional and district officials, Dr Mtey has developed several strategies to promote stake holders' cooperation and involvement in improving maternal health to reduce deaths during childbirth.

The focus has been on assisting pregnant women to deliver safely and to safe guard the lives of their new born babies.

"The region is improving maternity waiting homes for mothers to stay in before they go into Labour," Dr Mtey says.

The doctor further observes that maternity waiting rooms have also been constructed in Kongwa, Mpwapwa and Kondoa districts to ensure that expectant mothers stay closer to the hospital.

More medical development has taken place in the areas. Six health centers have acquired ambulances to carry mothers experiencing pregnancy related complications or in case of an emergency delivery. Fuel for the ambulance is provided by district executive directors within the region.

Dodoma in making sure that there is a reduction of maternal deaths and deaths of children less than five years by way of motivating workers. The staff who work with maternal wards are given allowances.

To ensure that the process is working effectively, the municipal authority has budgeted for 12 additional ambulances in the plan. The goal is to ensure that every health centre in the region has an ambulance.

According to Dr Mtey, then nation's capital authority has also planned to strengthen radio call services in dispensaries to improve communications and ensure that there is access to ambulances for patients when needed.

To motivate medical staff and keep them in the profession, said the doctor there was a need to implement plans of services that will attract health workers to villages. Such plans should involve installation of solar energy, provision of housing for staff and anything else that will improve the living conditions of those who work in the outskirts districts of Dodoma.

Dr Mtey called upon other regions to have close collaboration between the regional medical officer and health workers. Such collaboration can enable them to improve provision of quality health services for people.

But doctors On the other hand have to be ready whenever they are needed to attend to pregnant women immediately because women in that state are in a risky situation. "They are like a time bomb," Dr Elizabeth Hizza, a participant to the symposium, said.

It did not matter whether the day was Friday. Pregnant women need immediate attention because of their 'time bomb' state. When a woman has a pregnancy, she is in a war until she delivers safely and rests, said Dr Hizza.

The problem of scarcity of reliable traditional midwives also came up at the symposium. Prof. Japhet Killewo said the shortage was a result of lack of training.

The professor reminded that the medical hands were important in reduction of maternal deaths. He illustrated his message by quoting Bangladesh, a country he said had succeeded in the reduction of the situation because they trained the midwives.

"Tanzania should take time to make changes as Bangladesh has done," he concluded.

A member of Tanzania Gender Network Programme (TGNP), Ms Mary Rusimbi said that gender based problems bar women from getting information concerning their health.

"Since then women were not able to be given chances in several issues which have denied them their rights such as decision making, family planning and others," she said.

In Tanzania 1.6 million babies are born each year with140, 000 live births. Ten per cent are registered annually. And 51, 000 deaths of babies occur within the first month of life every year.

Maternal health, poor quality of antenatal care and poor immediate care of newborn are the primary causes of not only increased neonatal deaths, but also increased morbidity in childhood.

Dr August Massawe from MUHAS said that 90 per cent of the population lives within 10 kilometers of a health centre and there are only four special neonatal care units located in a consultant hospital.

"Very few hospitals and health centers have neonatal wards or rooms. There is a critical shortage of skilled health providers and very limited specialist care," he said.