Dr. Leila's Pregnancy Wellness Program

On the 1st of March 2025 we launched an ambitious primary healthcare initiative program, the brain child of our very own current chair person, Dr. Leila Omar Ahmed, as a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist she had noted with concern the increasing tendency for operational and assisted birth and its complications in Malindi Subcounty and its environs. As a stakeholder in healthcare she took up the challenge to come up with a solution, a program, starting all the way from the pre-natal period where she would educate mothers about the requirements of a healthy pregnancy and help prepare them for normal birth and early life in motherhood

Why?

In Kilifi County, a significant portion of births occur via Cesarean section (C-section), with 17% of live births delivered this way, and C-sections are more common among women with higher education, those in wealthier households, and those living in urban areas. Unfortunately, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended doctor-to-population ratio of at least 1 doctor per 1,000 people, falls short in Kenya, with a current ratio of approximately 1 doctor per 5,263 people creating a scenario for "third delay" to occur, in the context of maternal health, the "third delay" refers to the delay in receiving adequate and appropriate care once a woman reaches a health facility and since Ceaserean sections are only performed by doctors.

How?

The program is meant to empower women with the necessary information, know how, skills and training to carry a healthy pregnancy to term, deliver naturally and nurse their babies using available resources for both middle and lower income households, it also incorporates regular health checks for early identification of health challenges and book appointments with doctors or even specialists depending on the problem at hand.