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{
"id": 1419528,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1419528/?format=api",
"text_counter": 229,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Orwoba",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "am very happy that Sen. Ogola has taken her time to articulate the issues, which many men might not know that women undergo through this period of pregnancy, giving birth and after. Most of the spouses who sit here, all they can tell you is that “when my wife was pregnant, she had mood swings and we took her to the hospital and she gave birth.” They will also tell you that perhaps they are giving her three weeks to recover and everything will go back to normal. Therefore, that is probably what most of the men know. They do not know that when a woman is carrying life or a human being in her body, there is so much that goes on. You cannot bungle it together and call it healthcare, whether you are sick or not. It is a special kind of condition, so we need to have a Bill that caters for it. First, we need to acknowledge that only women can give birth and bring forth life. Therefore, we need a specific piece of legislation that touches on this very important act of nature, which if it did not happen, it would be the end of humanity. Having said that, maybe it is important to point out that most of the infant deaths and deaths of women when giving birth, are attributed to lack of the skills during the period of pregnancy, giving birth and afterwards. You will find that access to skilled birth attendance has improved from 62 to 70 per cent, but that does not mean much. It only means that, at least, the Kenya Kwanza Government has pushed to have our community health promoters, the women who are in the village, who assist other women to give birth, are equipped with the right equipment such as razorblades or basic things such as thermometers to check on temperatures and other equipment that they can use in the village at the point where the woman is unable to reach a health facility. Eighty per cent of the maternal deaths are attributed to poor quality of care. We have brought four Statements to the floor of the House that touch on the deaths of either newborn babies or women who have gone to hospital to give birth, but unfortunately did not make it. Those Statements have been handled by the Committee on Health, but if you look at the reports that have been tabled, they indicate clearly that access to skilled labor was a problem. One was tabled to me by a lady from Dagoreti North, who passed away while giving birth. The second thing is that issues that should be brought up as red flags when giving birth were ignored, and most importantly, women do not have access to health care centres. I know that some Members of the House might not see this as an important Bill or maybe they thought we should push other pieces of legislation. However, let me point this out, that within the several months that we have been here, we have had Senators who have given birth. So, this is not a Bill that is in isolation of us, Senators. We have had two children in this House. In fact, I was surprised we have not celebrated it and even put some time out, as a House, to appreciate that even legislators who come here to represent their people have wombs and give birth. We are women. We should not be seen as people who are just legislating for a year. We are also legislating for ourselves. Who knows, I could be pregnant, you never know. The thing we need to focus on, even as we pass this Bill--- The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}