EENHANA - The waiting wardfor expectant mothers at Eenhana has become overcrowded due an influx of pregnant women, which has outweighed its carrying capacity. It currently has 140 pregnant women, while more women are expected to come in with each day that passes.
The waiting ward, which is commonly known as ‘Ewalanda’ in Oshiwambo, helps many women who are staying far from the hospital so they do not have to travel long distances during uterine contractions.
The ward accommodates expecting mothers from remote areas during their final trimester so that they have easy and faster access to the hospital.
An administrator at the waiting ward, Saima Imene said rooms there are full. “Some women are sleeping on the floor while some share beds and some are sleeping under the trees outside. I have no choice since their pregnancies are almost due and most of them live deep in the rural areas, far from the hospital,” Imene said.
Imene added: “It’s not good to deny a pregnant woman admission just because the ward is overcrowded. Sleeping under the tree or on the floor is better than giving birth at home.”
When New Era visited the hospital over the weekend, women expressed their appreciation towards the
Eenhana Town Council for providing this valuable waiting facility.
“If there was no ward, we could have suffered. I stayed in a remote village without a single vehicle to transport me to the hospital during contractions,” said Martha Hangula from the Omhalapapa village.
According to Hangula, she does
not have a problem sleeping under a tree, as it is near the hospital.
“But the problem is that this place
is not safe. We are at risk of being attacked by thieves because there is no security guard here,” Hangula said.
Meanwhile, Lusia Kafine from Oshimumu village who came to the hospital on Saturday, said this is the third time she has come to the waiting facility. “This waiting ward helped me not to give birth at home. I am ready to sleep wherever there is space,” she said.
Approached for a comment, the health director in the Ohangwena region Johannes Hango, said it is normal for a waiting ward to be full because women are falling pregnant.
He said it is not always that the waiting ward is full, therefore, nothing can be done.
However, Hango called on the Samaritan to assist expectant mothers with beds and mattresses.