Maternal, Infant Mortality: Varsity Don Advocates for Effective Antenatal Information Dissemination to Safe Lives

From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja

A Professor of Library and Information Science at the Federal University, Lokoja, Sarah Dauda Yani has advocated for effective Antenatal information dissemination to reduce high rate of maternal and infant mortality in Nigeria. adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Professor Yani made the call while delivering 31st inaugural Lecture series of the University, titled: Helping Expectation Mothers Make Sense of Antenatal Information And Drift Out of The Claws of Death, held at the Adankolo Campus of the institution in Lokoja.

Professor Yani who also is the University Liberian, was of the opinion that accurate and widespread Antenatal information would safe expected mothers from dangers associated with maternal health, before, during and after child birth.

According to Professor Yani “the benefits of antenatal information guarantee the evolution of antenatal activities from instructional rhetoric to transformational engagements

“The benefits are not limited to the localization of content, accessible information dispersed using platforms supported by technology, but operating based on community-led engagement, the integration of emotional and mental health, and adequate funding are also essential.

“The use of technology has come to stay despite many women being nervous about trusting the gadgets; popular use of technology is not limited to the use of social media platforms and other orthodox platforms such as radio and television

“However, television and radio were veritable tools used to convey antenatal information. It was commendable in ensuring the incorporation of trained traditional birth attendants, faith leaders, and women’s groups to mediate and address the issue of trust needed to gain community traction. This was another milestone used to sensitize women about postpartum depression, fear of childbirth, and marital support types of help these women need to enable them stabilize their emotional and mental health.

She recommended that “Antenatal Information should be broken into small packages in line with the types of information pregnant women receive and disseminated appropriately so that pregnant women are not overwhelmed and confused. Providing this information in diverse language understood by pregnant women is imperative.

“For pregnant women to perceive and make sense of antenatal information, there is the need to find areas of intersection between their cultural beliefs and the information they receive.

“In order to improve the use of antenatal information by expectant
mothers, family members, especially their mothers, mothers-in-law and religious institutions should be encouraged to engage and educate expectant mothers of the benefits of antenatal information during pregnancy.

“The ongoing and social constructs of Weick’s Sense Making Theory should be used to enhance the perception of antenatal information by pregnant women. Husbands should be encouraged to attend antenatal clinics with their spouses to facilitate the actualization of the social context, identity, retrospection, extracted cues and plausibility over accuracy construct of the sense-making theory”

She maintained that pregnancy is not a death trap, nor a death sentence, and that attaining safe delivery can be pursued with sense against all the negativity in
scholarly reports about prenatal and postnatal morbidity and mortality rates globally.

Earlier in his speech, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Lokoja, Professor Olayemi Akinwumi disclosed that it is mandatory that every Professor must deliver an Inaugural Lecture, a tradition and an academic debt owed both to the institution and to society.

“The choice of today’s topic is both significant and relevant. Maternal and child health remain critical concerns not only in Nigeria but across the globe”