Why mothers continue to give birth to under-weight babies

Mothers in Kabarole District have continued to give birth to underweight babies, authorities have said.
The Kabarole acting District Health Officer, Mr Brian Kisembo, said in 2021, the district registered 264 cases of mothers giving birth to babies below 2.5 kilogrammes and 57 cases were stillbirths.
“It’s unfortunate that as a district, we are having a problem of stillbirths and mothers giving babies to low birth weight and this is largely caused by malnutrition among mothers. We hope with the new maternity ward in place, our mothers will be coming here to attend antenatal care services,” he said.

Mr Kisembo was speaking at the commissioning of the Shs155m refurbished maternity ward at Ruteete Health Centre III in Ruteete Sub-county in Kabarole District last Friday.
The Kabarole District Health educator, Ms Catherine Kemigabo, blamed poor nutrition for the increase in the underweight babies. 
Ms Kemigabo said they have embarked on a campaign of educating mothers who come for antenatal care on nutrition.
“We want all pregnant mothers to make sure they feed on a balanced diet while pregnant. They are supposed to eat food rich in nutrition so that they produce a healthy baby,” she said.

 According to nutritionists, babies whose weight is less than 2.5 kilogrammes have a higher risk of death.
The assistant commissioner for reproductive and infant health in the Ministry of Health, Dr Richard Mugahi, said some mothers shun going for antenatal and miss out on important lessons.
“Some mothers get pregnant when they are anaemic, malnourished while others suffer from malaria because they don’t want to sleep under mosquito nets. It’s also unfortunate to find a pregnant mother drinking alcohol which reduces her appetite for food,” he said.

Dr Bernard Bwambale, a professional dietician at KRC Uganda, said the process of feeding the foetus starts immediately after conceiving.
 “A pregnant woman should eat a variety of food that contains micronutrients that help in the formation of the baby such as foods rich in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, iron, magnesium,” he advised.
 Dr Bwambale cited foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole-grain breads and cereals, low-fat milk or milk products, lean meats, chicken without the skin, fish, or cooked dried beans and peas.

 Ms Evanice Alimungiza, a retired senior nursing officer in charge of maternal and child health from Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital, said mothers who eat an unhealthy diet during pregnancy may be putting their children at risk of developing long term, irreversible health issues, including obesity, raised levels of cholesterol and blood sugar.
According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef), nearly half of all deaths in children under five globally are attributed to undernutrition. This translates into the loss of about three million young lives a year.

 Maternity ward  
Government last week commissioned a Shs155 million maternity ward in Kabarole District.
The officer-in-charge of Ruteete Health Centre III, Dr Tom Mugisa, said: “Many mothers who have been coming here have been complaining of lack of space to deliver because this facility serves a population of over 25,800 people.”
The maternity ward, which was refurbished by Bank of Uganda, is equipped with delivery beds, mattress, solar system, laboratory equipment, among others.

The deputy Governor of Bank of Uganda, Mr Michael Atingi-Ego, said their partnership with Kabarole District will ddress maternal and child mortality in the Rwenzori region.
“The Rwenzori region hosts a Bank of Uganda facility in Fort Portal City, and you might be aware that this region is classified among the places with high maternal mortality in Uganda,” he said.

The district chairperson, Mr Richard Rwabuhinga, said they allocated Shs312 million to Ruteete Health Facility to be upgraded to Health Centre IV, adding that a theatre and other infrastructure would be constructed.