- The report notes that the share of registered male births dropped from 51 per cent in 2021 to 50.8 per cent in 2022.
- The World Health Organisation standard requires a health facility to be no more than five kilometres away.
Image: FILE
Women are now opting to give birth in healthcare facilities reversing the trend of home deliveries.
The Economic Survey 2023 released on Wednesday shows the proportion of registered births reported to have occurred in health facilities went up in 2022.
The report shows the number of women going to hospitals increased to 1,208,846 in 2022 from 1,173,786 in 2021.
According to the report, out of the 1,221,444 deliveries registered in 2022, only 12,598 were community births.
This was a decline from 26,404 community deliveries recorded in 2021 out of a total of 1,200,190 deliveries.
“Consequently, the share of registered births occurring in the community declined to one per cent in 2022 from 2.2 per cent in 2021,” the report shows.
The report notes that the share of registered male births dropped from 51 per cent in 2021 to 50.8 per cent in 2022.
The World Health Organisation standard requires a health facility to be no more than five kilometres away.
Various counties have come up with practical and innovative ways to ensure more women deliver in hospitals.
Murang’a for instance has come up with a plan to ensure expectant women receive Sh4,000 stipend to ensure they deliver in a health facility.
About 30 per cent of expectant mothers have been delivering at home, endangering their lives and those of their babies.
Governor Irungu Kang’ata said the stipend is aimed at incentivizing expectant mothers to ensure they attend ante-natal clinics and deliver in the hands of medics.
“Delivering at home endangers the life of the mother and the child. Other developmental issues result from home deliveries that can be avoided if mothers deliver in hospitals," he said.
The global health agency in a report released in February said about 21 women in the country die due to pregnancy-related causes every day.
Although Kenya has been improving maternity care to reduce these deaths, the progress is painfully slow.
Thus, at the end of each year, the country counts about 7,000 fresh graves of would-be mothers, who died mostly during pregnancy or after childbirth.
Local maternal health advocates told the Star these deaths are unacceptable. They said the government must now improve access to maternity services in rural areas and slums, where most deaths are.
Last year, the Ministry of Health admitted that while the maternal mortality ratio has reduced over the years, it is still double the global average.