Firm raises alarm over weak emergency response for pregnant women

A maternal healthtech company, Birthsafe, has expressed dismay over the gap between antenatal care and emergency response at delivery points.

The organisation, which said there was a need to strengthen the reactive care that pregnant women receive, noted that this could be achieved by focusing on emergency obstetric training for nurses and midwives.

Founder of Birthsafe Nigeria, Dr Idara Umoette, said the organisation’s forthcoming training would address such an issue.

The training will be held on July 2 and 3, 2025, at NECA Hall in Ikeja, Lagos.

Addressing newsmen, Umoette said: “The most pressing gaps in emergency obstetrics care that this training hopes to address would be the efficiency of the first response. In many instances, first responders whom women run to first are nurses and midwives. So it makes perfect sense that as first responders, they should be equipped, empowered and have their skills further sharpened to ensure that they can deliver efficient interventions to keep women and babies alive.”

According to Umoette, the TORM initiative was conceived to bridge the dangerous gap between antenatal care and emergency response at delivery points.

“Women and their babies are dying and we have had conversations on a way forward—on how we can beat this. Birthsafe, as a foremost digital antenatal service provider, has directly rendered services to pregnant women. And we sat and thought, in addition to being proactive, is there something that can be done to strengthen the reactive care that pregnant women receive.

“It is one thing to receive antenatal care, but what happens when they come to the facilities in the event of an emergency? That’s what formed the idea behind TORM.

Lagos embraces innovation, and that’s why we are starting with Lagos. The facilitators were selected based on their years of experience, expertise and work they have done in the health space. They were selected based on their ability to deliver training that is practical and can be applicable in any sort of setting to be sure that women can be kept alive as soon as possible.”

Also speaking at the event, the Executive Director of Accentcare Home Health Services, Dr Ifeoma Orifa, said: “The need for this cannot be overemphasised. This is the right time—so, getting people to know what to do, empowering women to understand what they can do for themselves is very key.”