Pregnant women avoid hospitals

MAUMERE, East Nusa Tenggara: Some 60 percent of pregnant women in this province use the services of unlicensed midwives to help them deliver their babies, a foundation has discovered.

The deputy head of the Caritas Foundation, Antonius Fernadez, said on Monday that most women said they could not afford the services of hospitals. They also prefer traditional treatment in which it is easier to remove the placenta.

Fernadez said traditional baby deliveries put East Nusa Tenggara among provinces with the highest maternal mortality rate. The figure was 911 in 1986, almost double the national average rate. The figure only decreased to 860 after 10 years.

"Other provinces have done better in curbing the maternal mortality rate," Fernandez said.

He called on both the government and nongovernment agencies to promote awareness of safe delivery among pregnant women and their husbands. (yac)