Laikipia LHS' Deliberate Efforts To Provide Best Maternal Health Services
The county government of Laikipia has been deliberate in ensuring that all public health outlets have the necessary equipment for maternity services.
Through the Laikipia Health Service (LHS), the county has developed a rich network of outlets across Laikipia totaling to 86 this week after H.E the governor commissioned a new outlet at Nakwang' in Sosian ward.
For the first time, women from this area will have a place to safely deliver their babies unlike in the past where they delivered at home or traveled over 10km away to reach a facility.
In the first week of February 2022, three other maternities were commissioned at LHS-Melwa, LHS-Loniek, and LHS Muthengera. Each of these maternities is equipped with two delivery beds and a four-bed unit for postnatal care.
The First Lady H.E Maria Mbeneka's Hongera Mama Kit initiative has also helped ensure that women deliver in hospitals and that they attend the recommended antenatal clinics. The kit is a package that contains a basin, slippers, baby warmer, ointment for the umbilical cord, vaseline, diapers, and maternal pads for the mother.
The kit comes in handy especially for mothers who are in no position to afford these essentials. During the ongoing LHS drive, the governor is taking time to explain the essence of the Hongera Mama Kit, as a way of encouraging men to be involved in their children's birth journey also.
These intentional investments have seen a rise in delivery in LHS outlets across the county. In 2020, 16,053 deliveries were made while 17,091 deliveries took place in 2021 in various outlets in the county. In LHS-Nanyuki alone over 500 deliveries have been made since the maternity unit moved to the mother and child unit in mid-December last year.
The maternity unit at LHS-Nanyuki has a bed capacity of 60 beds in the general ward and 30 beds in the amenity ward.
This increase is an indication that our outlets continue to be the outlets of choice to many expectant mothers in the county.
Other counties have sent delegations to Laikipia county to benchmark on maternal health units. The latest ones in this month were from Nyandarua County.
