Majority of women in Upper East Region prefer delivering at home because that is where they would be properly attended to.

Participants at a Regional Health Forum organized by the Coalition of NGOs in Health under the theme, “Reproductive Health-What the Youth Should Know”, in Bolgatanga who disclosed this, said the women detest the way and manner the women in labour are maltreated in unwelcoming labour wards manned by unfriendly nurses.

According to participants, majority of pregnant women who delivered at health facilities complained of being screamed at and sometimes slapped by nurses handling them.

Other pregnant women did not want to deliver at health facilities because they prefer squatting whilst delivering but nurses would not allow them to do that since they have their own methods of conducting deliveries.

The pregnant women would also want to deliver at homes because they cannot stand the way other women suffer especially after surgical operations.

Reacting to the concerns of participants, Dr Peter Baffoe, a resident Gynaecologist at the Bolgatanga Hospital, said the hospital’s administration would address the problem.

He however explained that sometimes, the nurses are forced to shout at the pregnant women because most of them refuse to take instructions on delivering procedures which he noted could kill the baby in the womb or the pregnant woman herself.

“Pregnant women who undergo such treatment will appreciate the fact that they are able to deliver safely with their baby alive”

Dr Baffoe indicated that most labour halls were not up to standard, stressing that some buildings were just converted into labour halls without the necessary designs.

He explained that, under normal circumstances, pregnant women are supposed to be separated during labour periods and not put in one hall where they see the trauma their colleagues go through which would naturally scare.

In another development, the participants expressed concern about the lack of toilet facilities in most households in the Region compelling the people to engage in open defecation.

They called on all District Assemblies in the Region to ensure that houses are built with toilet facilities and to also ensure that proper sites are acquired for waste dumping.**