HARARE – Expecting mothers in Zimbabwe’s rural areas are often forced to sleep on the floor due to lack of beds and water in the waiting shelters at public referral hospitals, legislators have said.

During Wednesday’s question and answer session, lawmakers expressed concern over the conditions in maternity waiting homes, with many mothers left to cook for themselves and also fetch water despite being closer to their delivery dates.

Tabeth Murwira, a proportional representative Member of Parliament, asked Health and Child Care deputy minister Sleiman Kwidini on what the government had in place to help the situation.

Another MP, Sithabisiwe Moyo, also highlighted that mothers in a lot of waiting shelters were not being provided with food.

“Most of the time, these shelters lack security, and the women are forced to lie on the floor.

“Expecting mothers need a proper place to rest and be admitted to hospitals, not just an empty room without bedding.

“These mothers are also not provided with food; they are told to find their own. Many of them come from distant areas,” she said.

Maternity waiting homes are meant to offer accommodation for high-risk women in the final weeks of their pregnancy, allowing them to stay near hospitals equipped with essential obstetric facilities.

However, many women face significant challenges, including inadequate amenities.

Kwidini acknowledged the challenges faced by expecting mothers saying the ministry is working hard to ameliorate the situation.

“It is true that women who want to give birth at the hospital often arrive to find that the waiting rooms have no beds or food. The Ministry of Health is working tirelessly, day and night, to address this issue, alongside the Ministry of Public and Social Welfare, to provide food for the maternity wings. We are also working to acquire more comfortable beds,” he said.

Kwidini however said the provision of water to hospitals fell outside his ministry’s mandate.

He denied the government had intentionally neglected the waiting shelters, and emphasised ongoing efforts to improve them.

“We are in the process of constructing new facilities as part of a project aimed at reducing maternal complications. We also want to address the challenges faced by women living in marginalized areas or far from health centres,” he said.

Kwidini challenged lawmakers to play their own part to help the situation, suggesting they use part of their Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to help build and maintain maternity shelters within their respective constituencies.

“This is in line with His Excellency, the President’s mantra, ‘Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo.’ Honorable Members should also use the devolution fund, provided through local authorities, to assist with the construction and maintenance of these maternal shelters,” he said.

Maternity Waiting Homes (MWHs) have been a part of Zimbabwe’s healthcare system since the early 1980s, but many are now in disrepair. Studies show that women who stay in these homes have better pregnancy outcomes than those who are admitted directly from home.