"Some of the obstacles we face in conducting early detection of risk factors (caused the effort to) have yet not been conducted optimally," Director of Family Health at the Health Ministry, Erna Mulati, noted during a webinar as seen here on Wednesday.
Mulati deemed it crucial to immediately detect the risk factors for childbirth right from the pre-pregnancy phase and during pregnancy. Based on the data, 85 percent of the pregnant women had been treated by conducting at least four antenatal visits.
However, only 2.7 percent of this large figure of pregnant women received treatment that met the established standards. As many as 84 percent of them underwent examinations with midwives, who did not have the competence and authority to detect comorbidities and non-obstetric conditions, such as heart disease, tuberculosis, autoimmune, HIV, and diabetes mellitus.
Complications due to non-obstetric factors was the third-highest cause of the maternal mortality rate across the nation.
Mulati noted that 76 percent of the maternal deaths that occurred during the labor and postnatal phases were since early detection had not been conducted optimally.
As many as 36 percent died during childbirth due to blood loss, uterine rupture, or hypertension. The remaining 40 percent of the mothers died during childbirth due to infection, bleeding, or obstetric and non-obstetric complications.
She noted that the government had continued to improve the quality of services by increasing the midwives' skills and competence by training them in detecting comorbidities or non-obstetric complications.
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Her administration also extended their collaboration. They involve more than just general practitioners but also obstetricians. They also aimed at increasing the role of hospitals under the management of the national defense force and police force in order to improve antenatal and neonatal services.
"We are striving to make people pay more attention (to this issue), so that they are truly in ideal conditions to get pregnant and (still be) healthy. This applies to soon-to-be married couples or female of childbearing age couples, so that they are in a condition that is suitable for pregnancy," she added.
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Translator: Hreeloita D S, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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