Last week, some pregnant women, numbering over 100 stormed the premises of the Ondo State Specialists Hospital in Akure, the state capital to protest against the alleged hike in the cost of antenatal services and some other miscellaneous expenses at the state-owned hospital.

Specifically, they alleged that the antenatal registration fee which used to be N1,000 had, according to them, been increased to N4,000. They explained that they paid N500 for every antenatal appointment while N25,000 had allegedly been fixed by the management of the hospital for a normal delivery of a baby. They also said the management acted on the order of the state government.

The protesters, who were visibly angry over the alleged increment, were chanting anti-government songs while some of them were cursing whoever was responsible for the increment in the government. They disrupted the activities at the hospital for several hours and went ahead to make comparison between the immediate past administration of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko and the current regime of Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu in the area of

 To this end, the TBAs who were proscribed by the immediate past government seem to have been resuscitated because according to an investigation, a few days after the protest, the patronage at Traditional Birth Attendants and mission houses of some churches in the state increased as some pregnant women were sighted at the TBAs places in the quest for medical treatment. This has raised the fear of likely increase in maternal mortality rate in the state unless the government takes proactive measure against it.

 It would be recalled that during the immediate past administration, some policies were made in the health sector  called Safe Motherhood projects which had led to the creation of Mother and Child Hospitals in Akure and Ondo towns among others for expectant mothers.

One of the components of the safe motherhood projects was the ‘Agbebiye’ which entailed the TBAs referring  pregnant women to the state hospital or government medical centres for proper medical attention of qualified medical professionals and specialists.

The Agbebiye project was said to have further reduced maternal mortality rate and also generated revenue for the TBAs across the 18 local government areas of the state as they were paid certain amount of money for each pregnant woman they referred. It was a matter of the more they referred, the more money they got.

The projects, as a matter fact had won Mimiko administration many accolades in and outside the country.

 However, it was discovered that the safe motherhood programmes had been discontinued by the present administration.

A top state government functionary told our correspondent that it was impossible for the current administration in the state to continue with Agbebiye programme due to paucity of funds and consequently the money to the TBAs had stopped.

During a visit to a TBA centre in Akure, a number of pregnant women were seen at a big room waiting to see the ‘doctor’ but many of them were not willing to speak with our correspondent.

But one of them who identified herself as Mrs. Eunice Adeyemi said she was planning to return to her church to continue her antenatal care because the government hospital fees were getting unbearable.

Another woman, Mrs. Khadijat Ogunyemi, who was heavily pregnant, said since she could not afford to pay the fee at the government hospital, she had to go back to TBA centre for treatment and care. According to her, she was used to traditional means of giving birth as her first two children were delivered at a TBA centre in Ikare Akoko, Ondo State.

In her own case, an 18-year-old pregnant Iyabo Oguche said from the day it was confirmed that she was three months old pregnant, her mother had taken her to a traditional birth attendant house in Ondo town. Since then, she had been going there for antenatal.

The case of Mrs Abimbola Olanrewaju was a bit different as she said she combined both orthodox and traditional antenatal treatments. She added that she had been avoiding the fees introduced at the government hospital by patronising TBA centres for antenatal.

A traditional birth attendant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed to our correspondent the influx of the expectant mothers to her centre. The attendant whose office is located at Oke Aro area of Akure said she charged less than what the government hospitals charge for deliveries.

However, the Special Adviser to Governor Akeredolu on Health, Dr. Jibayo Adeniyi, urged the expectant mothers in the state to patronise the government hospitals, saying they should not risk their lives by patronising quacks for antenatal care and treatment . He allayed the fears of the pregnant women in the state that government had not changed anything in the health sector that could negatively affect their welfare at any stage of their pregnancy.

Similarly, the Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr. Wahab Adegbenro, who had addressed the protesting pregnant women during the protest, denied the alleged increment. He said the government would continue to provide qualitative and affordable health care for the people of the state. He also assured the protesters that the government would not affect any increase in the antenatal fees.