Community Development
Association

The ultimate aim of opening AN care clinic is to raise awareness of the danger of pregnancy toxemia, mishandling of the pregnancy and abortions, The Project Antenatal Care Consultation Counselling unit has been opened cum office in Hlaing Thar Yar, Township in Yangon Region. Since the majority of the inhabitants are factory workers working full days, the AN Care Services are providing by opening of the clinic on Saturday and Sunday and the project holidays are established on Wednesday and Thursday of the week. The Antenatal Care Team lead by the midwife with assistance of 3 Auxiliary Midwifes (AMWs), and the AMWs.

CDA has experienced on this training, which developed by American Paediatric Association (AAP) and accepted by the Department of Public Health. This training is to training the person providing child delivery to be able to save life of the new-born babies, within golden 90 seconds, who are facing difficulties to breath. During this training HBB Trainer Kits of CDA were used and also training how to use the pigeon suctions. At the end of the training course CDA has donated bag & mask and pigeon suctions to the project AMWs to be able to safe the life of the new-born babies when they encounter the breathing problem during child deliveries.

The private hospitals and clinics are charging high prices of the child delivery services and health cares for pregnancy, which not affordable for the poor families. Especially, the most vulnerable migrant workers are not in a position to enjoy any of these expensive services which supposed to be provide by government hospitals and clinics which are almost missing. During the current crisis period, most of the pregnant women are giving child births at home or at a small clinic with the traditional birth attendant who gives birth at a low cost. It was found that some of the clients were not even able to pay that very low service costs to birth attendants and to spend for the materials needed during the child delivery. It was also found that some of the pregnant women did not manage to make prior arrangement and preparations where they should go for child delivery services. As a result, some pregnancies face \emergencies and lead to a high potential on increasing the mortality rate. Thus, the project has been prepared to support the pregnant women with clean delivery kits and assist them to have arrangements to get delivery services which would able to assure the life security of the mother and the newborns.

The project has formed 20 Peer Mother groups, starting from 1 May 2022. The project conducted the peer mother group discussion and experience sharing sessions in which 20 groups were participated in January, February and March 2023. They were discussed mainly on AN and PN cares, women leaderships on pregnant health cares and concepts about gender and the participants have to share and learned based on their previous experiences.

The following topics were discussed in the Discussions at Peer Mother Group Discussions.

• Precautions and Do & Don’t for Pregnant Women

• First time registration on Pregnancy at Health Care Service Providers

• Prior Preparations for Safe Delivery

• Second, third and fourth visits to Health Care Service Providers to get AN Cares

• Hygiene Preparations for delivery

• Danger symptoms of Pregnancy

• Understanding on danger symptoms of delivery

• Cares after Child delivery

• Developing Health Seeking Behaviors

• Leading to a positive pregnancy experience

• Working together/helping each other on emergency

• Enhancing experience of pregnancy and ensuring safe new-born

To maximize the maternal antibody response and passive antibody transfer to the infant, the national immunization schedule in India recommends the 2 doses of tetanus toxoid (TT) for unknown immunization status of pregnant women i.e the first dose of tetanus toxoid should be administered as soon as pregnancy is detected, second dose of tetanus toxoid is administered after 4 weeks and if a mother received 2 TT doses in the last pregnancy and mother gets again pregnant with in 3 y than only one dose of TT is recommended and that dose is called booster dose.

At the project area, there are key active 4 CSOs are working. They are 1) Mother and Child Affair, 2) Women Affair, and 3) Local Administrator and 4) Local Volunteers. Since project has started Antenatal Care Service Unite, they are able to send their volunteers for helping and participating in taking care on Antenatal Care Services and also join the Peer Mother Groups’ sessions. They are not only assisting and learning on Antenatal Cares with the project activities, they also undertake to provide emergency transfer of mothers to hospitals. The volunteers of these 4 CSOs are gaining the knowledges on Antenatal Cares Services and will be able to contribute to their communities after the project.