INTRODUCTION TO MATERNAL
CHILD HEALTH/ NUTRITION
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Reasons for MCH services
2. Role of a mother in a Family including
women’s workload
3. Main causes of morbidity and mortality in
childbearing
INTRODUCTION
Definition
• Maternal and child health (MCH) care is the health service
provided to mothers (women in their childbearing age) and
children.
• The targets for Maternal and Child Health are all women(15
– 49 years of age), pre school children (birth – 5 years)
school-age population( 6-12), and adolescents
cont. introduction
• Maternal and Child Health is a package of comprehensive
healthcare services
• It is designed to meet the promotive, preventive, curative,
and rehabilitative needs of pregnant women
• It is done before, during, and after delivery, as well as in
infants and preschool children from birth to five years.
MATERNAL HEALTH -cont’d
introduction
• Maternal health refers to women’s health
during pregnancy, childbirth, and the
postpartum period
• Each stage should be a positive experience
• Ensuring that mothers and their newborns
realize their full health and well-being potential.
CHILD HEALTH- cont’d introduction
What is Child Health?
It encompasses the physical, mental, emotional and social
well- being of children from infancy through adolescence
Improving the health of children is of fundamental importance
Healthy children live in families, environments and
communities that provide them with the opportunity to reach
their fullest developmental potential
REASONS FOR MCH SERVICES
CON’D
To monitor the progress of pregnancy in order to ensure
maternal health and normal foetal development.
To recognise deviation from normal and provide
management.
Provide basic health care to all mothers and children.
To ensure that the woman reaches the end of the pregnancy
physically and emotionally prepared for her delivery.
Reduce maternal morbidity and mortality
REASONS FOR MCH SERVICES
Reduce neonatal mortality and morbidity
To offer nutritional advice to the mother and prevent malnutrition
Prevent communicable diseases e.g vaginal yeast infections,
herpes, uterine infections, bacterial vaginosis (BV) etc
To prepare the mother for breastfeeding and give advice about
appropriate preparation for lactation
To build up a trusting relationship between the family, the
mother and her partner and health worker
CONT’D REASONS FOR MCH SERVICES
Promoting reproductive health ie F/P, Sexual health,
maternal health
Regulate fertility so that desired and healthy children can be
born when desired
Ensure the birth of a healthy child
Encourage healthy growth and development
COMPONENTS OF MCH AND NUTRITION
Maternal health
Child health
Family planning
School Health
Handicapped children
Care of children in special settings such as day
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF WOMEN IN A
FAMILY
As a wife
Be man’s helpmate, partner and comrade
Sacrifice her personal pleasure and ambitions, Set standard of morality
Relieve stress and strain, tension of the husband
Maintain peace and order in the household
Be a source of inspiration to man for the high endeavour and worth
achievements in life.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS A WOMAN
Meet his needs; what he eats, preparing meals and the bed & sex
Stands by him in all the crises as well as share with him all successes
and attainments.
Give him love, sympathy, be understanding, comfort and recognize his
efforts.
Be faithful and submissive and devoted to your husband, be content
Be obedient
ROLES OF A WOMAN AND THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES
As a mother
A teacher to the child
transmits social heritage to the child ( It is from the mother that the child learns the laws of the
race, the manner of men, moral code, and ideals)
organize the home and its activities in such a way that each member of the family has proper
food, adequate sleep, and sufficient recreation
Make home a place of a quite comfortable and appropriate setting for the children
Responsible for the child’s habit of self-control, orderliness, theft or honesty
ROLES OF A WOMAN AND THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES
Health officer
be concerned about the physical well-being of every member of the family, the helpless
infant, the sickly child, the adolescent youth, the senescent parent
Leader of the Household
Assign duties among family members according to their interests and abilities
provides resources in-term of equipment and materials to accomplish the job
preparation and serving of meals
care of clothing, laundering, furnishing, and maintenance of the house.
she organizes various social functions in the family for social development.
ROLES OF A WOMAN AND THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES
Manager of Family Income
prepare a surplus budget instead of a deficit budget
very calculating loss and gain while spending money
positive contribution to the family income by work.
Contribution to the family income by work.
Performs in the home and uses waste products for productive
purposes.
IN SUMMARY OF THE WOMAN’S ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY
Role of wife, Partner,
Organizer, administrator
director, re-creator
disburser, economist
mother, disciplinarian,
teacher, health officer
artist and queen
MATERNAL MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY
o Mortality: Death
o Maternal death: Death of any woman from any pregnancy-related cause while
pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the
duration and the site of pregnancy.
PREDISPOSING FACTORS TO MATERNAL DEATHS
Poor social economic status /Poverty
Ignorance
Social injustice
Excessive fertility leads to high-risk pregnancies
Lack of community-based maternity services
PREDISPOSING FACTORS TO MATERNAL DEATHS
Predisposing factors
Poor referral system for handling emergencies
Poor attitudes of health providers
Disrespect for human rights – FGM
Socio-cultural factors: early marriage, early childbirth
Inadequate Health Service Coverage
Health and nutrition services
CAUSES OF MATERNAL MORBIDITY AND DEATH
1. Direct causes
2. Indirect causes
1. Direct obstetric deaths
Deaths that result from obstetric complications of the pregnancy, labour and
puerperium may also arise from interventions, omissions and incorrect treatment
or from the chain of events while pregnant or during the first six weeks (42 days)
after delivery apart from incidental causes.
MATERNAL MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY ( DIRECT
CAUSES)
Hemorrhage: antepartum, postpartum, abortion, and ectopic
pregnancy.
Unsafe Abortion - commonest cause of maternal death
Hypertensive diseases in pregnancy: pre-eclampsia, eclampsia
Obstructed Labor and uterine rupture
Infection: uterus, tubes, urinary system and fetal infection.
puerperal sepsis
MATERNAL MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY (INDIRECT
CAUSES)
2. Indirect Obstetric Deaths Anemia: This is the
Deaths resulting from previously commonest indirect cause of
existing diseases, that developed maternal death. May be due to
during pregnancy or which are Malaria, poor/low iron
aggravated by the physiologic effects supplementation
of pregnancy. Chronic illnesses such as
Account for about 20% of maternal heart disease, diabetes
deaths. These include: mellitus, HIV/AIDS and TB, etc.
cont’d MATERNAL MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY
CAUSES
Genital fistula: abnormal connections – bladder, lower gut, birth canal
• Incontinence: involuntary leakage of urine
• Uterine prolapse - includes prolonged labour, heavy exercise and
multiple childbirths.
• Psychosocial problems: such as anxiety, depression, and psychosexual
problem.
REFERENCES
Essential Maternal and Newborn Clinical Care Guidelines for
Uganda by Ministry of Health , May 2022
Maternal and Child health, programmes, problems and policy
in Public Health by Jonathan Kotch.
Maternal and Child health, Global challenges, programmes
and policies, by John Ehiri
