Maternal healthcare in Kenya has come a long way. Faced with the twin problem of high child mortality rate and high number of women dying from pregnancy related cases, the Government of Kenya put in place measures to drastically reduce and or alleviate the cost of child birth in Kenyan hospitals. The main objective was to encourage more Women to deliver in Hospitals as opposed to delivering at home. In hospitals, the expectant mothers would have access to skilled healthcare professionals who would know how to handle childbirth skillfully so as to reduce cases of death of the mother and/or the child during child birth.
One way the Government of Kenya uses to reduce and or alleviate the cost of child birth in Kenya is through its public insurance cover, NHIF (National Hospital Insurance Fund). An expectant mother can enroll for the NHIF cover at least 3 months to delivery and enjoy the benefits of the cover during child birth. For expectant mothers who do not have an NHIF cover but are married to or is cohabiting with a spouse with an NHIF cover, it is possible for the expectant mother to be added to the spouse’s NHIF cover as a dependent. In this way, the expectant mother is able to use her spouses NHIF cover to access free and or subsidized delivery at accredited hospitals. An expectant mother can be added to the spouse’s NHIF cover at the NHIF office producing proof of marriage and or cohabitation. This can either be way of a marriage certificate or a marriage affidavit. You can get a marriage affidavit for NHIF purposes at www.affidavits.co.ke
The linda mama program is yet another way the government of Kenya has used to reduce and or do away with the cost of child birth in Kenya. The program’s goal is to achieve universal access to maternal and child health services and contributes to the country’s progress towards universal health coverage. All pregnant women who are Kenyan citizens are eligible to be members of the free maternity services. Registration can be done through mobile phone using the USSD *263# or through the NHIF registration portal.