11 pregnant women die in Kaduna village where closest hospital is 100km away

Residents of Maiyola, a community of 3,000 residents in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, have said they lose an average of one pregnant woman monthly due to absence of antenatal services.

The residents said in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria that they also lose a lot of children under five due to absence of healthcare services.

A housewife, Salamatu Haruna, said: “Women here rarely attend antenatal or visit hospitals for check up during pregnancy or delivery.

“I don’t go for antenatal services during my pregnancies because of the distance between our village and the nearest place to get hospital services, which is Kachia or Idoh and is about 100 kilometres from here.”

Haruna also said the village has no good road to allow for smooth ride on motorcycles for women in labour.

She added: “For us to access health care, we have to use motorcycles.

“As such, women here deliver at home with the help of traditional birth attendants.

“We do not have good road here and one cannot easily get cars or motorcycles, sometimes we trek and when a woman is in labour in the night, it becomes more difficult to even contemplate going to hospital.

“Eleven pregnant women have died this year from labour complications.”

Another housewife, Hafsat Abubakar, said: “Anytime I am pregnant, it comes with fever and since there is no hospital close by, I prefer to stay at home and take local herbs as it is our culture.

“I know four women close to me that lost their lives in the process of child birth here in the village.

“We prefer to patronise traditional birth attendants because that’s the only option we have here in Mayola.”

Zainab Abubakar, another resident, said she goes for antenatal, but not frequently because of the distance and poor transport service.

The woman said she patronises a local patent medicine store wherever she felt ill.

Another woman, Zainab Musa, said five of her relatives died during childbirth in the community this year.

Musa said: “I give birth at home because my mom is a traditional birth attendant and the culture here is when it is time for you to give birth you go to your parents house and not your husband’s house.”