Media statement 6 February 2024
Cllr Rina Marx
MMC for Health
The national Department of Health has dedicated 6 to 10 February 2024 for the purpose of pregnancy awareness. Pregnancy awareness week aims to improve education about pregnancy with the objective of promoting healthy pregnancy and safe motherhood.
As the MMC responsible for Health in the City of Tshwane, I would like to stress the importance of antenatal care. Antenatal care is where early monitoring and screening occur to identify a potential risk to the health of the mother and unborn child.
Antenatal care involves screening and testing for, among others, anaemia (iron deficiency), infections, diabetes and hypertension. Early antenatal care can assist in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
I would like to encourage women to present themselves as early as possible in their pregnancy to a primary healthcare facility to begin antenatal care. Antenatal care should ideally start at the time pregnancy is diagnosed. Antenatal care ensures early detection and interventions for a healthy outcome for mother and child.
Maternal and child health will continue to remain an important health priority for the City of Tshwane. South Africa has committed itself in terms of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 to, among others,
- reduce maternal mortality;
- end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age;
- reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by one third; and
- ensure universal access to reproductive healthcare services.
All the primary healthcare clinics managed by the City of Tshwane offer a package of comprehensive primary healthcare services targeting, among others, woman and child health. Please make use of these services.
Media enquiries: Natashia Chhiba (natashiach@tshwane.gov.za)