The Divine Mother and Child Foundation (DMAC) is advocating for the use of inhaled oxytocin for expectant mothers.
The hormone is said to prevent hemorrhage during labour to reduce the high maternal mortality in the country.
According to a release signed by DMAC founder, Edmund Duodu, the use and introduction of this new oxytocin will be very useful in promoting maternal health.
The statement said, nearly 300,000 women die every year due to pregnancy-related causes. The risk of a woman in a developing country dying from a maternal-related cause during her lifetime is 23 times higher than a woman living in a developed country.
The single biggest cause of death is excessive bleeding during or after birth, a condition that is effectively managed in developed countries using the gold standard therapy, oxytocin, a manufactured form of a natural hormone.
However, accessibility to quality oxytocin in resource-poor settings is limited as current products are only available in an injectable form requiring supply and storage under refrigerated conditions and trained personnel to administer the product safely.
Importance of Inhaled Oxytocin
This new collaboration aims to address these issues through the development of a heat-stable, affordable and easy-to-administer inhaled form of oxytocin. Formulated as a dry powder, inhaled oxytocin eliminates the need for refrigerated storage conditions, while delivering oxytocin via a powder inhaler could facilitate its administration by health workers, birth attendants and mothers themselves. This approach has the potential to support women in low-resource settings or who give birth outside of medical facilities and where there is no electricity.
DMAC is therefore urging all stakeholders especially, the Ministry of Health to help promote maternal and child health through the use of oxytocin.
Source: Inform Ghana