Public health: ‘Suburban women may be wrongly diagnosed’

Doctors investigate how maternity clinics and laboratories can ruin lives.

KARACHI:

Too many women have lost their lives because of incorrect diagnosis and unqualified staff, said the panel at a seminar on the problems faced by women during pregnancy that was organised by the obstetrics and gynecology department at Liaquat National Hospital.

“There is an increased growth in the number of maternity clinics, laboratories and diagnostic centres in suburban parts of the city. These clinics are poorly run by unqualified individuals with no ethics and so can severely harm women,” said panelists at the seminar. They declared a joint distaste for general physicians who refer patients to maternity clinics which provide substandard service.

According to Dr Gohar Rahim, there is a trend of offering ultra-sound training courses to lady health workers as they can be misused. “These clinics and laboratories publish advertisements in newspapers and attract unassuming individuals. If people go to these places they can be diagnosed incorrectly and suffer severe repercussions,” he said. Participants discussed case studies of patients who underwent surgeries at such clinics on the basis of an exaggerated benign tumour or fibroid.

“There are horrible instances where surgery is performed on young women to treat infertility,” said Dr Zehra Naqvi.

Prevent a pregnancy from going wrong

For Dr Haleema A Hashmi, a family physician should provide primary care to patients since their patients trust them. “A family physician should be able to identify unusual developments during a pregnancy and refer the patient to a proper hospital or maternity clinic,” she said.

Stating the qualities of a good family physician, Hashmi added that there needs to be an up to date knowledge of reproductive health matters and communication skills. “Many physicians fail to prevent pregnancy related complications which can be avoided through early detection and timely referrals,” she added.

Dr Salma Batool Naqvi, a gynecologist, also discussed how to take care of pregnant women at the primary healthcare level and insisted that antenatal care should start through health education at the pre-conception stage.

“The most important stages of a pregnancy can be divided by the trimesters. In Pakistan, unlike in the west, antenatal care maybe provided at the community level and usually by family physicians. As practical as this maybe, those attending to the pregnant woman should be well trained,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2011.