Doctors Advocate for Safer Childbirth Practices

Medical professionals and health advocates across Kenya are intensifying calls for safer childbirth, emphasizing that preventable harm and maternal deaths remain unacceptably high. During a health‑sector symposium, experts raised the alarm about unsafe practices in maternity and neonatal units, including poor triage, limited access to emergency care, and lack of lifesaving supplies in many hospitals.
A recent initiative by the Global Surgery Foundation (GSF) is supporting this push: the organization launched a project in Nakuru County aiming to reach over 25,000 pregnant women annually through training surgical teams to perform safe caesarean sections. The training also includes building trust, improving team communication, and strengthening systems — all crucial for reducing complications during surgical childbirth.
County-level doctors are also calling out resource gaps. In Kajiado County, healthcare workers are being trained to manage postpartum hemorrhage using Non-Pneumatic Anti‑Shock Garments (NASGs) — a low-cost but highly effective tool to reduce blood loss and save mothers’ lives. Meanwhile, national figures show that many facilities do not meet safe delivery standards, prompting threats from the Ministry of Health to revoke licences for hospitals linked to high maternal mortality.
Beyond clinical care, advocates are also pushing for systemic reforms. They call for strengthened Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR), 24-hour theatre readiness, access to blood and oxygen, and respectful maternity care. In addition, they want accountability mechanisms such as a toll-free call centre for reporting mistreatment during childbirth — an idea already in motion after reports of obstetric violence in Kenyan facilities.