Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the University of Benin, Professor Friday Okonofua has said a mostly free maternal health services in Nigeria would reduce the rate women die from causes related to pregnancy and child-birth.
He is also sure a mostly free maternal health services would reduce poverty among many families in Nigeria as he said, "Free maternal services across most parts of Nigeria would reduce the economic burden on the mostly poor women."
Okonfua told Daily Independent in an interview in Lagos that most of the money spent on treatment and other medical services by women during pregnancies and child-bearing could be converted to money for feeding and other necessary family needs.
He also said a free maternal health would raise the funding stake for the government in Nigeria resulting in a closer attention to the health of women and their children.
He, however, suggested that a free maternal health for most of Nigerians could be achieved easily through the introduction of a Maternal Health tax and community insurance for same purpose to be facilitated by the government.
"Nigeria can reduce the rate at which women die during pregnancies and childbearing by a significant measure if some of these measures are put in place," he said.
Joseph Oeibunor of the department of sociology and Antropology, &University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Okonufua and colleagues stated in a study published in the recent edition of African Journal of Reproductive Health that an estimated 144 women die each day in Nigeria from pregnancy-related complications.
According to the researchers, the figures, which came from the United Nations and World Bank, makes Nigeria one of the worst countries for women to deliver babies in the world.
Estimates given in that study shows that Nigeria's yearly maternal mortality deaths of 59, 000 ranks her second after India in the list of countries with terrible records on maternal health.
"India with a population of over one billion people reduced its maternal deaths from 136, 000 to 117, 000 between 2000 and 2005, by contrast Nigeria's maternal deaths rose from 37,000 in 2000 to 59,000 in 2005 with a population of 150 million," they wrote.
Current indices from the National Demographic and Health Survey also puts the maternal mortality ratio in Nigeria at 984 deaths per 100, 000 live births.
Okonfua said the actual figure might be much higher if statistics of all women giving birth outside the hospital is considered.
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