Husbands whose wives get pregnant should shave the expectant mothers to prevent neonatal infections due to the weak immune systems of babies.

This call was made by a nurse at the Surgical Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital Sebastian Ayivor.

Speaking to the Mirror Newspaper, Ayivor said hairs harbour a lot of microbial organisms which can expose babies to eye infections.

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He added that they usually entreat pregnant women who come for antenatal care to shave before delivery.

“Some come in with unshaved private parts. During the antenatal visit, a routine physical examination is done where the suprapubic is palpated to see the presentation of the baby and when midwives detect that the place is unshaved, they are advised to shave before their next visit.”

“Those who default are the ones who mostly patronise the services of traditional birth attendants. They sometimes refer their clients to the hospital when they think they cannot do home delivery and most of them come with unshaved private parts,” he added.

He said the pregnant women could not shave themselves because of the size of the baby bump especially in during the third trimester hence his call for support from partners or caretakers.

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He said the babies are prone to eye infections if the mother does not shave especially during the spontaneous vaginal delivery (SVD).

Although shaved private parts may only be associated with normal birth, Mr Ayivor explained that “delivery per SVD can turn to a caesarean section which also requires shaving before it is done to prevent infections such as intraoperative or postoperative infection, which are both surgical infections.”

He said when expectant mothers shave before delivery; it gives the midwives the visual luxury for easy access during delivery and also saves time.