The Principal Nursing Officer of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Ms Beatrice Nuako, has advised girls to wait till they are physically and mentally mature before they engage in relationships.
According to her, unwanted pregnancies lead to unsafe abortions and attempted abortions could also result in the birth of mentally challenged children.
Speaking to the Junior Graphic, Miss Nuako revealed that mentally challenged patients do not completely recover, especially when their brain cells die off since the cells can never regerminate.
For this reason, she said such children were normally not discharged but were transferred from the children’s ward when they became older to the adult ward for further treatment and management of the illness.
Touching on the causes of cases reported at the Children’s Wards, the principal nursing officer said delayed labour, smoking and heavy intake of alcohol during pregnancy, as well as untreated childhood illnesses such as malaria and convulsions, were the major causes of psychological problems in children.
She, therefore, advised pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics regularly and adhere to the advice given to them, adding that, “during labour, it is important to get to the hospital early to seek medical assistance.”
