Dr. Christopher Tufton
The Health Ministry is reporting that for 2015 and 2016, less than ten per cent of women accessed the public health system for prenatal care during the third trimester of their pregnancy.
This is being seen as a major challenge for the Ministry, as these expectant mothers are considered as putting themselves at unnecessary risk.
In a release, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, stated that in 2015, 41 per cent of expectant mothers visited a public health facility during the first trimester of pregnancy, while 43 per cent visited in 2016.
He pointed out that Jamaica has made some strides but there are still challenges.
Tufton explained that to tackle the problem, his ministry will now be refocusing and re-emphasising support to not only expectant mothers but their partners as well.
Additionally, the Ministry will continue to explore public-private partnerships to implement other initiatives geared towards empowering expectant mothers and parents to provide the best care possible for themselves and their children.
Meanwhile, Tufton has announced that the Ministry will be launching another initiative seeking to motivate expectant mothers to utilize health centres more.
He said this will be done by providing them with information and tangible items which will help parents to better prepare for the birth of their baby.
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