SUVA – The Colonial War Memorial Hospital has recorded the delivery of 845 babies this month. With the last day of the month today, health authorities are expecting the number to increase to 900.
Hospitals gynaecologist Doctor James Fong said the rise in the number of deliveries could not be classed as a baby boom.
It has been happening for quite long now and if you look at the long time trend, then there’s an increasing number of deliveries at CWM Hospital, he said.
I think the increase in the number of deliveries recorded is because a lot of people are coming to Suva because of internal migration.
Dr Fong said the figures on babies delivered at other health facilities around the country could only tell if there was a baby boom.
He told the Fiji Health Symposium that the biggest issue faced last year was unplanned pregnancies. The biggest issue for 2011 was family planning unplanned pregnancy was a problem.
He told The Fiji Times there were eight deaths last year, with five being maternal mortality and three for incidental mortality.
The maternal mortality rate has improved a lot but we want to improve it some more. Dr Fong said the delay in seeking care, reaching the hospitals and receiving care were the causes of the deaths.
He said some pregnant women could not attend their clinics or go to the hospitals because they lived far and could not afford the bus fares.
