The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) delivers an average of 2,500 babies each month at its Ayinke House obstetric unit, according to the hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo. He shared this information in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.
Ayinke House, the largest maternity hospital in Nigeria, recently expanded from an 80-bed facility to a 170-bed center equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment. Despite the high number of deliveries, Prof. Fabamwo noted a decline from previous years when the hospital saw about 3,000 births monthly.
“It’s now low compared to what used to happen in the past, but I believe that the economy has actually cautioned people to limit the sizes of their families, so not too many people are eager to come out with babies anymore,” he explained.
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The hospital provides health education to pregnant women during antenatal care and offers counseling on family planning and child spacing after delivery at its family planning clinic.
Fabamwo highlighted Ayinke House’s role in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality in Lagos. The facility offers comprehensive maternal services and professional training for medical students and resident doctors.
He said, “We participate in the normal routine deliveries of cases that are low risk essentially to cater for the training of student midwives who come here from some of the universities that we have partnerships with.
“But more importantly, is our high-risk cases, which is essentially what we deal with as a number of general hospitals and private hospitals refer high-risk cases to us to manage.”
He emphasized that the hospital’s ability to provide multidisciplinary care has been crucial.
“If a patient needs a cardiologist or other specialists, we can easily call them in because we are all in the same premises. Cases that need advanced care all benefit from timely interventions, and that has helped the state in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality,” he said.
Ayinke House, which was re-commissioned in 2019 after significant upgrades, features four operating theatres, one emergency theatre, a 20-bed delivery suite, an intensive care room, and 22 consultant obstetricians and gynecologists. The facility, along with Lagos Island Maternity Hospital and other obstetric units in general hospitals, plays a key role in lowering maternal mortality and morbidity rates in Lagos.
Prof. Fabamwo reiterated the importance of improving the health of mothers, infants, and children as a public health goal for LASUTH and Lagos state.
He assured that the hospital remains committed to providing quality, affordable, and modern healthcare services to all citizens in Lagos, Nigeria, and across Africa.