Teenage mothers deliver up to 20% of all babies born every year in Guyana, Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said yesterday, while stressing that a more intensive health sector programme will tackle the issue of young mothers.
The global statistics of maternal deaths are staggering, Ramsammy declared, saying “these are babies who are pregnant”. He said one of the great risk factors for maternal mortality is teenage pregnancy, adding that there are many more risks that teenagers face in carrying a pregnancy and giving birth safely.
He said the Ministry of Health will host a one-week workshop and training programme on the prevention of teenage pregnancy beginning tomorrow. Ramsammy pointed to local statistics, which he said shows that some 20% of all babies delivered annually are delivered by teenage mothers between the ages 13 and 19.
According to him, the health sector has made a marginal dent on this aspect of its control programme, but he declared that a dent is not good enough. Ramsammy said the ministry intends to scale up its efforts to reduce and prevent teenage pregnancy.
The minister noted that there social risks, in addition to the health risks associated with teenage pregnancy. He said that it sometimes results in school drop-outs, adding that a whole cycle of problems also ensue. Further, he said families are affected.
The training sessions will target healthcare workers and community leaders, Ramsammy said. He noted that PAHO/WHO is offering support for the training sessions. In addition, he said, the Adolescent and Young Adult Health and Wellness unit of the ministry is making the prevention of teenage pregnancy a foundation programme.
Depression
Ramsammy told reporters that 150 healthcare workers from Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and Ten will be trained on how to diagnosis and treat depression and anxiety, which he said is present in about five percent of the population.
Significantly, he said, Guyana had not addressed the important issue of postpartum depression, also called post-natal depression, which affects women after childbirth, until now. He said that these programmes have now been introduced at the primary health care level, accomplishing a paradigm shift since mental health programmes were previously treated as specialized services.
Ramsammy said that as much as 20,000-25,000 people should be on treatment for depression, but pointed out that more than half of the people suffering from depression go undiagnosed and therefore untreated. He said persons suffering from depression are usually labelled in their communities as lazy and that are sometimes referred to as people with “jumbie” or people that “get obeah”.
He said the health sector now has formally adopted guidelines for the treatment of anxiety and depression, which was achieved with support from several organizations.
Meanwhile, he said that substance abuse training would be conducted for some 40 persons from NGOs and churches in Region Six. He said too, that the ministry will soon establish relapse treatment programmes at the three hospitals in Berbice: New Amsterdam, Port Mourant and Skeldon.
He urged the public to support the public programmes since there is no charge for clients to register and receive treatment. Ramsammy added that the Georgetown Public Hospital now has the capacity to take in 12 new clients each month.
