11 Jun 2018

Gerald Clinic matron, Ms Keitumetse Kgosidintsi has urged pregnant women in the area to use their maternity wing as it was under-utilised.

Speaking at a health pitso held in Gerald recently, she explained that they registered a lot of women for antenatal care, but that a few came for delivery.

She explained that the maternity wing was equipped with skilled and qualified midwives with all the necessary equipment. She urged them to take advantage of it before it closed due to under-utilisation.

Ms Kgosidintsi explained that they held the health pitso to make residents aware of the services they provided and to get feedback on how they could improve services.

On other issues, a health care assistant at the clinic, Ms Keneilwe Makhanye implored residents who were HIV positive and had children to test their children for the virus.

Ms Makhanye complained about parents who did not test their children even though they knew they were HIV positive, noting that it was important that children born to women living with HIVwere tested so that they could receive treatment.

Moreover, she urged residents to go for testing as couples, noting that HIV prevention could be tailored based on their results and that as partners, they could talk about sex and other HIV risks and make plans with the support of a counsellor to reduce the risk of HIV as a couple.

For his part, Kgosi Paul Motshwane of Gerald urged health officials to educate couples on andropause as he received a number of cases that resulted from having the condition.

He explained that a lot of couples experienced challenges regarding the condition, and that they needed to be informed on how they could tackle it.

Andropause is a condition that is associated with the decrease in the male hormone testosterone and could result in low sex drive and difficulties in getting erections. ENDS