Ben Ezechime, Enugu
Professor Euzebus Chinonye Ezugwu is the current Director, Institute of Maternal and Child Health, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State, South-East Nigeria.
The youthful, eloquent Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology proved his worth on Thursday September 14, 2023, when he delivered the 189th Inaugural Lecture of the UNN inside the Moot Hall of Faculty of Law, Enugu Campus.
Looking boyish, simple and with voice of a renowned minister of the gospel, he held the audience spell bound with his lecture on the topic: “The treacherous Journey to Motherhood in a Developing Country; Should we watch them die?”
While introducing the inaugural lecturer earlier, the Deputy Vice Chancellor Enugu campus of the University of Nigeria, Prof. Daniel Nwachukwu, had described Prof. Ezugwu as a scholar adding “you will soon know why we made him a professor, even at a relatively young age.”
Prof. Ezugwu, after introducing himself, his background and his journey to becoming a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, told a story of the death of his grandmother who died shortly giving birth to his father.
He said: “My father narrated a story of how he lost his mother shortly after his delivery in circumstances related to child bearing. My father never knew his mother and was raised by his step mother. So, till graduation from medical school, that story by my father kept reverberating in my mind, and sparked my interest and desire to help in preventing maternal death. I concluded that women should not die on their journey to motherhood.”
Prof. Ezugwu said that, despite receiving an award and several accolades as the best graduating student in Internal Medecine, at the School of Medicine, University of Jos in 1996, he chose to specialise in Obstetrics and Gynaecology “to help contribute my quota in preventing women from dying during pregnancy, labour and after childbirth.”
The erudite professor stated that in every society, to become a mother is the most crucial role for women.
He said: “Motherhood is a journey which is unique to every mother. For some it comes easily, while for others, it is a challenging and daunting experience.”
According to Ezugwu, child bearing is a divine mandate coming from God after the fall of man in the garden of Eden, quoting Genesis 1 v 18. He said this suggests that procreation was one of the key responsibilities assigned to man by God.
“The tragic reality for all women embarking on this divinely assigned responsibility is that this journey, especially in the developing world is usually a tortuous and treacherous one that could result in serious maternal morbidity and even death.”
Prof. Ezugwu, who has several award winning publications, revealed that about 800 women die daily from causes directly or indirectly related to pregnancy, adding that for every woman who dies, 20 or 30 encounter injuries infections or disabilities.
“The tragic reality of the journey to motherhood is that pregnancy increases the woman’s vulnerability, especially in the developing world.
He added that pregnancy predisposes women to many life-threatening conditions during pregnancy, labour and even after delivery which if not handled could result in death.
Rhetorically, he asked: “Should we then watch women die in their attempt to fulfil this God given assignment/responsibility?”
Ezugwu went ahead to note that in spite of the resolve and policy statements by notable world bodies that no woman should die while giving life, the rate of maternal deaths still remains unacceptably high, especially in Nigeria and in many sub-Saharan Africa.
The inaugural lecturer, however, said that most of these maternal deaths were preventable. He said it only requires “our commitment, dedication and determination to stop them from dying while performing their God given responsibility.”
He said that to improve maternal health, barriers that limit access to quality maternal health services must be identified and addressed at both health system and social level.
Prof. Ezugwu postulated that to save women’s lives and prevent maternal deaths, relevant steps must be taken including avoiding unwanted pregnancies by women, use of contraceptives and access to high quality care in pregnancy, during and after childbirth.
He added that, in fulfilment of his vision and mission towards saving the lives of women and to improving maternal and child health thereby reducing the unacceptable high maternal and child mortality rate in Nigeria, he had undertaken several researches and published articles, books and journals and made recommendations, all aimed at improving the quality of services offered by Healthcare providers.
Ezugwu further asked some pertinent questions which included: “Does the government lack the empathy in the issues of how safe motherhood is handled?
“Can we justify the: lack of health care facilities and failed primary healthcare system in Nigeria? No road to transport our women with obstetric emergency to the next available healthcare facility. Many non-functional or faulty moribund equipment that may cause harm than good, among others.”
He also blamed some healthcare providers for increasing the woes of women during child bearing, especially in rural communiies. He said that some pregnant women resort to patronising traditional birth attendants due to the harsh and uncompromising attitude of many healthcare providers.
“Some had said: “I had better die than be attended to by XYZ.”
He further asked if it was possible to exercise informed decision in the midst of ignorance and abject poverty in the case of rural community setting.
He also posed the question: “How much have we done in the area of health education and health promotion?”
In the cause of the lecture, which spanned over an hour, the scholar informed his listeners that in his quest to become a better Gynaecologist, and to see doctors and colleagues practice medicine in a more compassionate manner, and to be able to advocate for women’s right to safe motherhood: “I decided to study Bioethics.”
He added: “As the chairman, Scientific Committee of Bioethics Society of Nigeria, the umbrella body of Bioethics in Nigeria, I have organised several webinar on topical issues in Nigeria, such as Ethics of Organ donation, Ethical consideration in the practice of surrogacy in Nigeria, Artificial intelligence in the 21st century Ethical consideration and challenges.”
While the scholar was lecturing, the women in the hall were consistently applauding him with ocsassional clappings because it was their day. A day that someone showed love, affection, empathy and compassion to their cause.
The professor did not exit the stage without a warning: “Women should not die in an attempt to fulfil this God given responsibility of procreation as majority of the causes of maternal deaths in developing countries are preventable.”
“As a body, health professionals should collaborate with advocates of human rights to ensure that women’s rights to safe motherhood are not violated,” he added.
At the end of the 189th UNN inaugural lecture, Professor E C Ezugwu was given a well deserved standing ovation for having justified his selection to deliver the lecture.
