Projects
WNF also operates a Maternal Outreach Project (MOP) that renders maternal health services to pregnant women in rural areas around Masanga Hospital, including information providing about birth planning.
Outreach Program
MOP
The Maternal Outreach Project (MOP) aims at providing maternal health services to pregnant women in remote, rural areas/villages around Masanga hospital by weekly outreach interventions.
A pilotproject of Masanga Hospital in 2020 revealed that most maternal complications and deaths happened to high-risk pregnant women who attempted delivery outside a hospital. A complex of social economic factors (personal barriers, poor infrastructure, unawareness of risks at birth giving) contributes to these worrisome outcomes.
The current MOP interventions are focused on conducting ultrasound scanning examinations in Community Health Centers (CHC's), located in 45 small villages. Authorized professionals scan the women, diagnose the pregnancy and register the outcome in a computer system.
If a high-risk pregnancy is identified (e.g. twins or placenta previa) the woman gets a thorough medical consultation conducted by the MOP scanning team. A referral letter is handed out with clear advice to give birth at the nearest hospital. In case of emergency, the woman is referred to the national ambulance service (NEMS) of Sierra Leone.
Sponsored students involved
WNF started this project to offer maternal health services and family planning consultation to the communities in small villages in hard-to-reach, rural areas in Sierra Leone. At the same time, it created an opportunity for the students, who WNSF sponsors, to operate as certified scanners in the maternal outreach interventions. They gain a wealth of work experience in rendering obstetrics services in the field.
Research
In order to evaluate the outreach interventions, a quality research project has been started. The research aims to assess broadly the influence of the program on pregnant women in rural villages.
The research team evaluates the interventions for better understanding of:
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The effect of the interventions on facility birth
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How and why women make decisions around child birth
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zooms in on the separate unique group of adolescent preganacies
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The cost effectiveness of the operations.
This will hopefully ensure that future interventions are meaningful and affordable. A reduction of the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is hardly measurable. The MOP program can only identify the pregnant women that carry a high risk and encourage them to go to the nearest hospital for facility birth. If properly managed, the program has everything in it to save lives and limit maternal risks.