#he endured all that abuse for 17 years without resorting to substances and this is the first time he caved

[homeless202]

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<- this is a new low for Eunyung

[leratotheot]

It takes more than a village to raise a child

(http://goblackcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Dear-Mama.jpg )

The very controversial, thought provoking and gifted rapper Tupac Shakur blessed us with this very famous track where he tells his story about the relationship he had with his mother. He expresses the hardships that they went through bringing to light the many social ills that were present in their society that had an impact on his upbringing such as inadequate housing, welfare as well as unemployment and inadequate employment wages. This track is over 10 years old but still resonates in the hearts of many around the world including myself as it shines the light on all mothers who soldier on to raise their children despite all the difficulties of poor health systems and economic constraints. Maternal and child health is what we do together as a society to ensure the conditions in which all women, children, and families can be healthy(Lu,2019). It  has been a constant struggle to achieve this  in our very diverse rainbow nation where it is evident that our health systems does not give way for this goal to be achieved because of  many factors and this all entirely contributes to our very high mortality rates.

Maternal and child health (MCH) programs focus on health issues concerning women, children and families, such as access to recommended prenatal and well-child care, infant and maternal mortality prevention, maternal and child mental health, newborn screening, child immunizations, child nutrition and services for children with special health care needs. States invest in healthy children and families to strengthen communities and avoid unnecessary health care costs.(NCSL.2020). With this in mind it is evident that no matter which society in the world the health of women and children is very important to ensure there is stability in society and continuation in terms of societal culture being passed down and practiced. The general health of women and children has a great impact on the population of any country because if there are high rates of mortality and diseases from maternal care then the population of that country is at risk and is not making maternal and child care a priority.It shows the flawed structure of that countries health system giving bad light to the country as a whole and this could impact the economy of that country as investors would not want to invest in a country that has flawed health systems,this would ultimately impact the economy of that country and increase poverty rates within that country deeming the country as one that is unable to take care of its own people.

In South Africa we have been named the most unequal country in the world by CNN.This is evident even in our health system where our maternal and child care procedures are not taken seriously and this contributes to the very high mortality rates.The Amensty International has reported that South Africa has unacceptably high rates of maternal mortality. Although the country is seeing improvements since 2011, the number of women and girls who are dying during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth has increased dramatically since 2000. Today, the maternal mortality rate stands at 269 deaths per 100,000 live births, far higher than the rate of 38 which the government committed to achieve by 2015. Experts suggest 60% of maternal deaths in South Africa are avoidable.(Amnesty Int.2014).

I would like to take this report further by focusing on the procedures that form part of maternal care and shed light on prenatal care and child birth.These are just some of the factors but they are very important as they are needed  before(prenatal care) and after the birth of a child(immunization). Prenatal care is any intervention taken to ensure a health pregnancy and methods to ensure the health of the growing baby during gestation some interventions include group prenatal care sessions where women who are around the same gestation period form a support group as a means to share experiences and troubles that they may be facing during their pregnancy as well as to educate women about the gestation period and what to expect at childbirth  this is facilitated by either a midwife or a nurse, these sessions would usually take place at a local clinic or at a hospital. These sessions are for both low-risk and high-risk moms(moms with diabetes or any other comorbid conditions) and lowers the chances of preterm birth.

Taking into consideration the South African context many mothers prefer the traditional prenatal route of practicing methods that have been passed down from generations before.Very few public health clinics and hospitals offer these services which could be the reason why most women resort to traditional prenatal care another factor is that SA has high teenage pregnancy rates and high prevalence of women infected with HIV/AIDS putting them in the high risk population for complications such as preterm birth,mother child transmission just to name a few.Due to the lack of information amongst this population many young girls go throughout their pregnancy not knowing the state of their health or of their unborn child these form contributing factors to the high mortality rates in SA. Its very important for a society like this one is well informed and receives interventions such as prenatal groups that are provided by organizations that touch on this topic to ensure that the rate of mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS is decreased as well as premature births are avoided as much as possible.

Poor health care facilities that have inadequate equipment,shortage of staff,negligence of staff and shortage of resources and infrastructure all contribute to the high rates of maternal and child mortality rates in SA.The implications of complications during child birth consist of delayed developmental milestones which will have a great impact when the child reaches school going age and the child presents with learning difficulties. Lack of information around leaning disabilities within the society negatively impacts the child receiving the correct intervention and the society is uneducated on how to handle children that have learning disabilities.The implications of this in OT is that the therapist would to screen the child and the mother(mental health) to compile a problem list and treatment would be based on trying to correct or treat what has gone wrong as a result in complications in child birth.Interventions such as home programs would be every beneficial especially in poverty stricken societies such as the one that I have been placed in Inanda. This society has quite a few special schools which shows that there is a high prevalence of children with learning disabilities but society is unaware of the programs that have been put in place like the Inanda Wilderness that address learning disabilities through engaging children through outdoor and nature play.

The community is most informal and there are a lot of informal settlements and is dominated by RDP houses,this environment is not condusive for successful maternal and child health because of the social ills that are present within this community such as lack of water and electricity,informal housing and crowding,substance abuse,lack of hygiene and sanitation structures,poor infrastructure as well as poor service delivery.If government took maternal and child health seriously most if not all these issueus would be addressed as an effort to provide a safe and healthy environment for mothers and children to grow in which will ultimately contribute greatly to the overall atmosphere and sustainability of the society(community).

In conclusion, while science, technology and big data will undoubtedly advance MCH in the coming decade, the biggest gains will still come from improving social conditions for all women,children and families. We should not forget that some of the greatest improvements in MCH over the past 150 years were achieved with better sanitation and hygiene, cleaner water and a safer food supply, enactment of child labor laws and women’s suffrage, and overall improvements in educational attainment, economic opportunities, and social status of women and children in our nation and around the world (Brosco 2012). This forms part of the leading factors that would ensure that maternal and child health is implemented in South African societies,without these changes coming from government then it makes it difficult for society to have a positive participation in maternal and child care as much as they want to because they are restricted by situations that they have no power to change themselves but it is a governmental change and intervention that has to be taken to change this unfortunate narrative.It doesn’t bring a good light upon any country when maternal  mortality rates are so high it gives a bad impression that the country does not care about its people and the future generations.

  References:

Brosco, J. P. (2012). Navigating the future through the past: The enduring historical legacy of federal children’s health programs in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 102(10),1848–1857.

NCL:Maternal and child health. Retreived from http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/maternal-and-child-health-overveiw

Amnesty international:Struggles for maternal health:barriers to antenatal care in SA.Retreived from  https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/struggles-for-maternal-health-barriers-to-antenatal-care-in-south-africa

Lu,M.C(2019) .The Future of Maternal and Child Health. Maternal and child health journal(2019)(23:1-17)