Africa Partners Medical, a group of American doctors, nurses and other health care professionals committed to improving medical care in Africa has organized an extensive programme of refresher course for medical attendants from all over the country to train them on birth related issues arising out of post birth complications.
Health care attendants mainly from the midwifery departments of government and some private hospitals were given an intensive 3 days training to enhance their skills on major topics of birth, pediatrics, obstetrics ultrasound and postpartum hemorrhage among others.
The training was facilitated by Africa partners medical Ghana office with an expect gynecologist Dr koranteng of Korle bu as lead trainer.
Participants were mostly taken through the topics of post partum hemorrhage [PPH], epidemiology etc.
Postpartum hemorrhage is the loss of blood following childbirth resulting in hypovolenia otherwise causing a woman to become symptomatic due to the blood loss.
Doctors measure PPH by a blood following vaginal birth or blood following cesarean section. it is most common cause of prenatal maternal death in the developed world and is a major cause of maternal morbidity worldwide.
According to the lead trainer Dr koranteng of the Korle- bu hospital most causes of postpartum hemorrhage are uterine atony, trauma, retained placenta and coagulopathy commonly referred to as the four T’s.
According to him the inability of the uterus to contract may lead to continuous bleeding.
He said trauma from child birth may tear tissues and vessels leading to significant postpartum bleeding .He said in most cases a bleeding disorder occurs when there is a failure of clotting such as with diseases known as coagulopathies.
TREATMENT
Dr koranteng said intravenous oxytocin is the drug of choice for postpartum hemorrhrage.He said in most cases misoprostol may also be effective if oxytosin is not available.
Participants were trained and given adequate methods of measuring blood loss associated with childbirth. According to the [WHO] a systematic review reported the highest rate of pph in Africa [27.5%] and the lowest in Oceania [7.2%] with overall rate globally of 10.8%.
Africa Partners Medical(APM) is a group of American doctors, nurses and other health care professionals committed to improving medical care in Africa. APM does so by sponsoring educational conferences in Africa and establishing long-term partnership with indigenous African health care personnel. The faculty of African Partners Medical includes physicians and nurses from Mayo Clinic, Scott White Clinic, Harvard Medical School, and Stanford University Medical Centre among others who volunteer their time.
According to APM Ghana, since year 2000,it has brought an annual medical education programme to a total of more than 700 physicians, residents, nurses and emergency medical technicians in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Mali. The APM provides comprehensive updates in clinical medicine through didactic teaching on a broad range of the most preventable tuberculosis, hypertension, diabetes and cancer. It helps in practical training in medical procedure for health care personnel through workshop on such topics as basic and advanced life support, emergency procedure in pediatrics, endoscopy and abdominal and obstetrics ultra sound, breast and cervical cancer screening.
APM-Ghana’s next plan is to organize free training on resuscitation and heart attracts related illness. APM-Ghana is also involved in training hotel staff across the country and all these they said are based on the American model. The organization hope to in the near future bring medical treatment to the doorstep of every Ghanaian based on the vision of a Ghanaian medical physician in Minnesota whose idea brought the mission to Ghana.
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