The improvement of medical facilities over the years has helped hospitals and primary health care centers deliver better health care services to patients. As beneficiaries, pregnant women in Nigeria now experience a safer child delivery session. The Maternal Mortality research carried out by United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), shows that “In 2011, skilled health personnel attended to nearly half (49 per cent) of all deliveries that took place over the previous two years, indicating improvement since 2007”.
However, some still go through the traditional birth method done by local birth attendants. Although cheap, it is not without its risks. According to World Health Organization, “In 2003, two third of the births in Nigeria still occurred at home”. During the traditional birth process, included in the delivery kit, for instance, is usually a mat, a brown paper or a brown rubber sheet. All these materials are not waterproof which means during child birth little or no fluid (the water, blood, sweat and tears) is being absorbed. Consequently, this will cause fluid spillage, which might lead to contamination and the risk of contracting blood-borne diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B or C.
This inadequacy gave rise to the initiative to create a hygienic material that can soak up all bodily fluid released during labour. Hence, the introduction of Nightingale Towel Underpad, which is the first locally manufactured Towel Underpad in Nigeria with the aim to preserve maternal health as well as newborns. The labour process should be hygienic, risk-free, and most importantly memorable. This is why every pregnant woman should use Nightingale Towel Underpad for delivery. The Underpad is a waterproof padded material placed under the labouring mother to help take in all the body fluid released during childbirth, thus, creating a hygienic environment for the mother and her newborn. Nightingale Towel Underpad is specially designed with super absorbent materials that can absorb up to 60 millimeters of fluid per sheet while the surface still feels dry and comfortable.
Child birth is not without some complications, which could partly account for maternal and infant mortality. According to the statistics provided by World Health Organization, records shows that “between 2000 and 2015, the maternal mortality rate in Nigeria reduced from 1,170 deaths to 814 deaths per 100,000 live births (30.4% decrease)”. However, the infants mortality record provided by UNICEF in 2017, indicates that nine percent of half of new-born deaths in the world in 2016 occurred in Nigeria. Hence, to help reduce maternal and infant mortality to the minimum, we recommend that 5 sheets of Nightingale Towel Underpad be used per pregnant mother. No baby should be delivered without this essential piece of birthing equipment.
