REVEALED: TIMBITA CONTRIBUTE TO STILLBORN DEATHS

MBABANE – The Ministry of Health has cited the use of traditional herbs (timbita) as a contributing factor to perinatal deaths, reported in 19 health facilities.

The ministry said this following a recent report, where a total of 416 perinatal deaths were cumulatively reported, between January and August 3, 2024. The observation was made in 19 health facilities providing maternity services. According to the report compiled by the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response, issued by the Epidemiology and Disease Control Unit, the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital as well as the Mbabane Government Hospital had the highest reported cases of 117 and 96, respectively. Calvin Dlamini, the Health Promotion Officer, said the use of traditional herbs (timbita) by some women, to escape labour pains, had led to some losing their unborn babies.

He, however, said such cases had declined, because of the awareness raised in various communities. “Women take such concoctions to get rid of the labour pains. They forget that labour pains play a major role for the child to be born. After drinking the concoction, the womb gets contracted very fast, forcing the child to come out under high pressure. The child gets suffocated and later dies. It is good for a pregnant woman to undergo labour for six to eight hours before giving birth,” he said. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), perinatal death is the death of the foetus or a newborn in the perinatal period that commences at 24 weeks gestation.

According to the ministry, week 31 had 12 perinatal deaths, which were reported in 19 health facilities, with early neonatal deaths (three), fresh stillbirths (three), and macerated stillbirths (six). The ministry cited various reasons, such as the delay in pregnancy check-ups, use of traditional herbs (timbita), congenital abnormalities in the womb, various delays, complications during labour, long or short placenta, and gender-based violence. The use of medication without a doctor’s prescription was also included among contributing factors of perinatal deaths.
Dlamini  said such deaths were expected to be high, since they received an influx of patients across the country daily. he also stated that those hospitals were used as referrals anytime patients’ encountered complications.

Hospitals

Another reason for the increase, according to the health promotion officer, was the accessibility of the mentioned hospitals. He said a majority of patients preferred seeking medical help where it would be convenient for them. “During the antenatal care, some experience complications before they are transferred to other hospitals. Some children die at the time their mothers arrive in hospital, during the delivery stage or a few hours after birth,” he said. He also mentioned that at times there were delays by expectant mothers in undertaking medical check-ups soon after discovering that they are pregnant. He said delays and late detection of any abnormalities had led to some women losing their children. Dlamini also highlighted congenital anomalies, while the child is still in the mother’s womb. Various reasons have resulted in such deformities.

He said the manner in which women conducted themselves before getting pregnant had contributed immensely to the birth of children with abnormalities. “Some women engage in bad behaviour, such as drinking alcohol and smoking, among other things, which have led to some of the complications. That is why we encourage women to take care of themselves, by not consuming substances are a threat to the unborn child. Some of the implications occur three months after the mother has conceived,” said the health promotion officer.

Dlamini further said delays, either from the hospital or patient’s side, had also contributed to such reported cases. On the hospital’s side, Dlamini said the nurse-patient ratio was wide apart. He said it was, therefore, impossible for a single midwife to attend to many patients at the same time. “Some pregnant women come late to the hospital due to transport issues. Some take a long time to reach hospitals, because of poor road infrastructure. Others delay intentionally coming to the hospital, when it is time to deliver their babies. They then start to blame hospitals when they lose their babies, forgetting that they also arrived late,” he said.

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