Nebbi PWD expectant mothers want specialized delivery beds

Highlights

• Mothers fear falling off the normal delivery beds
• No clear budget allocated for purchase of the beds

By Okaba Patrick

Nebbi. The People Living with Disabilities, want specialized delivery beds to facilitate safe delivery of mothers.

This comes after most health centers in the district do not have the specialized beds. As a result, some of them do not deliver at the health centers but opt for Traditional Birth Attendants.

The mother’s notes that it is challenging for them to climb the normal delivery beds for antenatal checkups and at the time of delivery.

They either climb the office chair or use their wheelchairs to access the antenatal beds for medical checkups at the facilities.

Grace Owiny, the Chairperson Disability Council Nebbi district, said Wednesday that about 99 percent of health facilities in the district are without specialized delivery beds for Mothers Living with Disabilities.

“If the educated people living with disabilities are getting challenges at the health facilities during their antenatal visit, what about others from the rural areas? The government must consider the plights of PWDs.”

Owiny added that 10 years ago, Nebbi hospital used to have two delivery beds for people living with disabilities which were adjustable, but they have become old and abandoned. They have not been replaced.

“I was shocked when I visited Nebbi hospital for antenatal checkup, I was told to climb on the delivery bed not meant for disabilities. It was difficult to climb it. I was forced to use my wheelchair to access the bed and almost fell off,” Owiny said.

The Founder Member of Beyond Limits Uganda, a Community Based Organization (CBO) advocating for the plight of People Living with Disabilities, Sylvia Odongkara, said PWDs expectant mothers are despised by some Nurses and less or no attentions are given to them making them vulnerable when accessing health services and other services.

But the West Nile Press Online could not independently verify the claims by Odongkara.

“We are advocating for equal attention to be given to PWDs like other people and government must put PWDs as priorities in their planning and have an urgent budget for delivery beds for the PWDs because they are also taxpayers,” Odongkara said.

However, the Principal Nursing Officer at Nebbi general hospital, Jane Manano, said since the hospital lacked delivery beds for people living with disabilities, they always carry the expectant mothers to access the delivery beds.

“Since the height of the beds couldn’t favor PWDs at the facilities, they are assisted by health workers to access the delivery beds. Truly, the government should consider the conditions of PWDs in accessing health services by providing specialised delivery beds for them,” Manano said.

During a recent visit by the Parliamentary committee on health, Member of Parliament for Rukungiri Municipality, Dr Elisa Rutahigwa, said parliament passed a budget to procure delivery beds country wide, if Nebbi lacks the beds, they should consult the ministry of health.