By Suzan Edeh, Bauchi
Pregnant Women in Bauchi state have testified to the use of Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) during their pregnancy journey, saying that the supplement has greatly improved their health and babies.
Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) is a supplementary drug that provides pregnant women with a mix of essential vitamins and minerals, thereby reducing the risk of adverse birth outcomes compared to standard iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements.
Speaking to a cross section of pregnant women who came to the Urban Maternity PHC for antenatal service in Bauchi, using the MMS has addressed their iron and folic acid deficiencies as they were not consuming adequate levels of several micronutrients essential to health, including iron, calcium, and vitamins C and E.
One of the pregnant women, Aisha Usman, a mother of six children said that she recently started taking the Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation when she got pregnant for her sixth child, adding that that her pregnancy experience was different compared to her previous pregnancies when she was not taking the supplement.
“When I was introduced to taking the MMS, i noticed there was a great difference in my health and that of my last child because I didn’t experience any pregnancy related complications like in the previous pregnancies where on one occasion i was given blood. Honestly, my health has improved and that of my child” She said.
For Aishatu Mohammed Umar who is currently pregnant for her first child, she started taking the supplement when she was four months pregnant.According to her, the supplement has helped greatly in her pregnancy journey as she does not experience some of the pregnancy symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, fatigue and insomnia.
Also for Kadija Mai Aduga, a pregnant woman living with a disability in hearing, using the supplement has improved her health according to her sister Fa’iza Mai-Auduga who spoke on her behalf.
She said that Kadija ever since she started taking the supplement has not come down with any illness in her pregnancy journey, adding that she has been very strong and does not complain of any pregnancy related complications like vomiting and tiredness.
Also speaking on the impact of the MMS, the In-charge of the Health facility, Hauwa Yuhana Adamu, said that the impact of the supplement on pregnant women was encouraging because most pregnant women using the supplement are healthy along with their babies.
According to her, many of the pregnant women using the supplement do not have issues like anemia, high blood pressure that leads to complications during child birth and fatigue during pregnancy.
In his response, the Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed said that one of the major use of the Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) amongst others is to reduce cases of anaemia in pregnancy which is one of the leading cause of maternal mortality in the society.
He said that there was a survey that was carried out in three LGAs of Bauchi, Ganjuwa and Giade in Bauchi State to ascertain the effectiveness of the supplement on pregnant women, adding that pregnant mothers that were using the supplement looked more healthier than those who were not using the supplement as their hemoglobin level was far higher than those who were not taking the supplement.
Also Speaking, the UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, Philomena Irene said that 134,280 bottles of MMS were provided to Bauchi State through UNICEF as part of the scale-up with support from the Kirk Foundation and training of the Health and Community Workers by Gates Foundation, adding that Nationally UNICEF’s Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) has supported large MMS deliveries of 3 million bottles to Nigeria via Kirk Humanitarian.
In regards to the sustainability of MMS, the Nutrition Specialist called on the Bauchi State government to continue to ensure that MMS is integrated into routine ANC, secure sustainable financing that involves moving from donor-funded consignments to predictable domestic procurement or pooled financing (state budget lines + CNF / donor bridging where needed).
Others according to Irene include strengthening the supply chain and commodity management so stockouts don’t interrupt daily dosing, training frontline health workers and supervisors on counselling, side-effect management and adherence support, investing in behaviour-change communication so pregnant women start early in pregnancy and adhere daily to MMS and Monitoring & evaluation in the areas of coverage, adherence, anaemia rates, birth outcomes and using data to guide scale-up and domestic policy decisions.