Man Divorces 14-Year-Old Wife For Allowing Male Doctor Attend To Her During Delivery

A man in Katsina State has reportedly divorced his 14-Year-Old Wife for allowing a male medical practitioner to attend to her while she gave birth to his baby.

The teenage mother, who was divorced by her husband, was said to have had a complicated childbirth, resulting in her being rushed to the hospital, where there was no female medical practitioner on hand to attend to her. As a result, the only male medical practitioner available attended to her during labor, a development that led to the crash of her marriage.

Although the lady was said to have given birth successfully, her husband’s joy was cut short when he rushed to the hospital to realize that the medical practitioner who attended to the wife during labor was a male. Peeved by the development, he subsequently divorced the wife.

The Executive Director of Nana Women and Girls Empowerment Initiative, Dr. Fatima Adamu, who disclosed this Thursday in Abuja while speaking as a keynote speaker at the Human Resources for Health Production Dialogue, appealed to governments, especially state governments, to ensure there was equity in the recruitment and deployment of medical personnel to rural communities.

The event, which was organized with a view to revolutionizing the country’s healthcare system, had stakeholders calling for accountability and prudence in healthcare training institutions.

Adamu, who has over 15 years of experience engaging and advocating for an increase in the production of nurses and midwives in the country, insisted that governments, especially state governments, need to take up the responsibility to produce their own health workers as, according to her, there is no short cut about it.”

“A 14-year-old Fulani girl in Katsina State delivered and had difficulty with delivery, so we had to take her to the hospital, and after the delivery, the husband divorced her because she was attended by a man. This young girl was divorced all because she was attended by a man during delivery, she lamented.

The women’s rights activist lamented that Nigeria was producing medical doctors far below its needs.

“There is a shortage of health workers despite the production. We are producing health workers far below our needs. Our average population growth is 3.2, but our annual production of nurses and midwives is 2.6, so definitely,there is a gap. That is the latest data available that could be accessed, she added.

Also speaking,Mr. Paul McDermott, Director of USAID/Nigeria HPN Office, represented by
Mieko Mickay, recognizing the pivotal role of students and tutors,also encouraged them to foster positive behaviors that promote a culture of supportive and collaborative learning.

On his part, the Country Director of USAID Health Workforce Management, Dr. Andy Omoluabi, stressed the critical role that human resources for health play in strengthening the country’s healthcare system, especially primary health care workers such as nurses, midwives, and community health extension workers.

According to him, despite the evident importance of these healthcare workers, Nigeria faces numerous challenges in producing enough skilled personnel, particularly at the primary health care level.

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He said, Some of the identified key challenges include shortages of qualified tutors and trainers, inadequate learning environments, and difficulties with adapting and delivering training curricula, despite revisions made in collaboration with regulatory bodies.”

One of the most pressing concerns highlighted during the event was the alarming burden of maternal and child mortality in Nigeria. Shockingly, Nigeria shoulders over 34% of the global burden of maternal mortality and has become the world’s highest contributor to deaths among children under five years.