Many mothers go for the ultrasound test mainly to know the gender of their unborn baby and, most importantly, to check any health issues that may come with pregnancy.
Some women, however, consider ultrasound as a luxury that will cause unnecessary expenditure and wait for the final day to deliver.
For some who are financially unstable, parting with at least Sh600 for ultrasound is a great expsense.
Occasionally, nurses and doctors come across complicated issues that are a matter of life and death and they quickly have to act to either save the mother or the baby.
This sometimes happens at the 11th hour when the mother is already in the delivery room, and should any abnormalities be detected at this point, panic and confusion take over.
Sometimes doctors are ambushed with congenital anomalies like heart defects, breech birth, stillbirth, Spina bifida, cleft palate and even the latest case of the conjoined twins.
Most of these are life-threatening situations that are attributed to a lack of preparedness.
Some women don’t attend clinics. They are afraid of HIV tests that are mandatory for expectant mothers or lack money.
Due to this, they, therefore, turn to traditional birth attendants who may not have enough skills to handle such complicated issues.
For the doctors to prepare to handle such abnormalities, expectant women should at least do two ultrasounds to help monitor the growth and development of the fetus.
This will help by having specialists around at the time of delivery, preparing the parents psychologically and even financially before the time of delivery.
Additionally, ultrasound helps parents expecting multiple births to plan well financially before delivery.
Ultrasounds also detect life-threatening situations like umbilical cord around the neck that might strangle the baby if born through the birth canal.
Through an ultrasound, such mothers can be scheduled for C-section to save the life of the baby.
Ultrasound should therefore be recommended as early as the first trimester to detect more issues like ectopic pregnancy that may be fatal to the mother should they advance or proceed to the second trimester.
The country has made a big step in the health sector especially by providing free maternity under the first lady's beyond zero campaign, but a lot still has to be done in terms of creating emphasis on essential services like screening.
Some issues may be out of the doctors' control, but in a digital world where technology has made work easier in sectors like health, child mortality due to issues that could have been avoided should be unheard of.
This calls for proper civic education and campaigns to educate mothers and cutting down on costs to avoid excuses like lack of money.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
