Public health facilities in Kuresoi and Rongai constituencies have been directed to pay Sh200 to every traditional midwife who refers a pregnant mother to the hospital.
Issuing the directive on Wednesday, Nakuru County Health Executive Daniel Kabii said that the stipend is aimed at increasing the number of mothers seeking maternal services from hospitals something he said will help reduce the number of maternal deaths in the two constituencies.
He said that the county government had targeted the two constituencies because they are among areas with the highest maternal related deaths in the county.
Kabii said that the county government had been using community health workers to sanitize pregnant women about the importance of giving birth in hospitals with the aim of reducing maternal deaths.
“From today all our public health facilities which offer maternity services in Rongai and Kuresoi will be paying Sh200 to every traditional midwife who refers a pregnant woman to the hospital during delivery because we want to let them know that it is safer to give birth in a hospital as compared to the traditional midwifes home,” said Kabii.
Kabii reminded pregnant women that maternity services at all public hospitals are offered free of charge and encouraged them to take advantage of that.
“I don’t see why a woman would want to pay a traditional midwife who will put her life at risk when he can get the best service at our facilities,’” he said.