Towards Maternal Near Miss Review Conference (Making Pregnancy Safer) began today (Wednesday) at the Crown Plaza under the auspices of H.E. Dr. Mohammed Saif Al Hosni, MOH’s Undersecretary for Health Affairs. The conference, which attracted a wide range of local and international participation, is organized by the Ministry of Health (MOH) represented by the department of Woman & Child Health in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), as well as the Centre for Maternal & Newborn Health (CMNH) of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM).

The two-day conference aimed at introducing the participants to the significance of maternal morbidity assessment, identifying reasons of sever morbidity and methods for treatment to safe mothers’ lives.

The working papers of the first day of the conference addressed the findings of the regional study on Maternal Death Surveillance and Response system, which involves 23 public and private hospitals. Moreover, papers highlighted incidence of maternal morbidity in Oman and underlying causes.

The second day will include a workshop to develop framework and action plan to implement the study as a national program adopted by the MOH; therefore, strengthening maternal morbidity notification and reviewing system.

The program hence aims at promoting the competency of the maternal deaths’ national and regional committees by reviewing maternal morbidity in addition to establishing a system to recognize and identify high-risk maternal morbidity and the learned lessons.

It is worth mentioning that the program will be considered the first of its kind in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and its implementation in the Sultanate as a national program joining the efforts of the regional committees in the Governorates along with the national committee in reviewing and studying maternal morbidity and mortality.

On the sideline of the conference, a panel discussion will be held between the WHO-Regional office experts and the MOH’s department of Woman & Child Health to address the woman health programs in the Sultanate and the updates on implementations mechanisms and outcomes.