Documentary film on the monitoring of pregnancy and prevention of maternal and fetal mortality in rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa
Italian Development Cooperation, documentary film
This short video describes the activities of nurses in some Primary Health Centers in the province of Bas Congo in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The nurses were trained in the use of hand-held ultrasound in monitoring of the last trimester of pregnancy, and in particular:
- to monitor fetal growth,
- to check the amount of amniotic fluid,
- to determine the position of the fetus,
- to assess the placenta and the fetal biometric parameters.
This experience, which was developed in the context of a programme supported by the Italian Development Cooperation, has allowed local health services managers to significantly reduce maternal and fetal mortality and reduce the negative effects of lack of specialized medical staff through delegation of tasks to personnel with shorter training.