At least 46 expectant mothers and three health workers died in 2023 due to shortage of blood in some public health facilities in Busoga Sub-region, a health official has said.
Dr Aggrey Bameka, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Buwenge General Hospital, who is also the coordinator of Busoga Local Maternity and Neonatal System, stressed that the expectant mothers succumbed to “lack of blood in their bodies.”
“They either died before giving birth or during the process of giving birth. However, one of the reasons for mothers dying during labour is excess bleeding, and if such an expectant mother has very low blood count, her chances of survival are low,” Dr Bameka explained on Saturday.
He added: “An expectant woman with low blood is highly exposed to what we term as postpartum hemorrhage, which is the commonest complication and the leading cause of death of mothers during labour. It is worse when the mother has low blood.”
Dr Ben David Mondo, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, said one of the reasons expectant mothers may lack blood is because of poor diet, poverty and not consuming foods that are rich in vitamins (to generate blood).
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