Attaining Safe Motherhood Through Communication Campaigns in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract The issue of maternal deaths in Nigeria, resulting from pregnancy-related causes has reached an alarming proportion in spite of government’s effort to curtail the incidences. It is in this light and in line with the Millennium Development Goal MDGs for the attainment of safe motherhood by the year 2015 that this study examined the role of communication in the nation’s quest to achieve this objective. The investigation was anchored on the diffusion of innovation and the individual differences theories. It used the survey design to draw a sample of 300 women from Obio-Akpor Local Government Council of Rivers State. The study found that majority of the respondents have heard of maternal mortality and safe motherhood, however, many of them did not fully understand what it is all about. The study identified cultural inhibitions and poor access to healthcare facilities as key obstacles to the use of communication for the enthronement of a safe motherhood culture. The study thus recommends that mass-media enlightenment programmes should be intensified and, that to make the communication efforts successful, interpersonal media should also be employed to reinforce mass media campaign messages. Key Words: Communication, Media Campaign, Family Planning, Maternal Mortality, Safe Motherhood. JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 6, No. 2, October 2014, 195 – 210 ©Delmas Communications Ltd. About the authors Dr. Christopher Ifeakachuku Ochonogor, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. ⃰ ⃰Mrs. Konye Cynthia Ikems is a lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Full Article Words: 7,053; Pages: 16