To Overcome Myths about Contraception, This Nurse Goes Beyond the Clinic

May 02, 2018Geita region  has one of the highest fertility rates in Tanzania and maternal mortality is high. Deus Bahame is working to change that.When registered nurse Deus Bahame learned that many girls in Tanzania ’s Bukombe District Council started having children at the age of 14, he knew he must do something.“With limited family planning services, by 28 to 30 years of age, these young women will have given birth to nine or ten children,” Bahame says. “We met them at the clinic only when they were already pregnant. There is no way we can improve these women’s lives and reduce maternal mortality i n such a situation.”So he became passionate about ensuring that women and girls in his district have access to high-quality reproductive and child health services —including family planning.Fear and rumors keep women in the region  from using family planning services.Geita region, where Bahame works, has one of the highest fertility rates in Tanzania —6.7 children per woman—compared to the national average of 5.2. The modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) is similarly low in the region at 13%, compared to thenational rate of 32%. And yet evidence demonstrates that modern family planning can reduce maternal mortality by 43%.Bahame had been trained throughIntraHealth International to provide comprehensive long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) at public health facilities in Tanzania in 2014. But he saw low uptake in his facility ’s catchment area...
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: news