Dr Jahir Uddin Ahmed, Interim Chairperson of the Department of Midwifery and Nursing at BRAC University
Safe motherhood is about a woman's right to choose as well as her right to survive. Registered midwives are required to ensure these two rights. Our honorable PM gave a commitment at UN in 2010 that 3000 midwives will be developed by the end of MDG. The government started midwifery education in all the nursing institutions in 2012. BRACU joined the effort. DFID agreed to support the midwifery education programme under BRAC University. The main purpose of the midwifery programme was to develop a competent and compassionate cadre of midwives to serve in hard-to-reach areas of the country. We have seven academic institutions spread across the country. Our curriculum is approved by the government and BNMC. We hope by 2021, we will be able to develop 853 registered midwives. But the country needs more than 20,000 midwives whereas we have very few of them registered so far. To overcome this situation, both the government and private sector need to work together and make arrangements for having more midwives in the coming days. We also need to think about deployment of the registered midwives immediately after graduation. We also have to create adequate number of faculty for midwifery education.
In future BRACU planned to introduce BSc in midwifery. We are also trying to make this education service sustainable by creating more opportunities for midwives in Bangladesh.
Dr Pandora Hardtman, Director of the Midwifery Education, BRAC University
Midwives are always the change makers when the stakes are lives of mothers and babies. They foster confidence in the system of birth giving. Globally, they believe that birth is normal, natural and healthy. They also believe that a woman has the right to give birth free from routine non-evidence based medical intervention. Now a days we see accelerating cost of deliveries which is unacceptable. A registered midwife can stop this over-medicalization of the normal birth giving process.
Here goes a story of midwife who is from the first batch of diploma level graduate midwives: At the initial stage I faced some difficulty to adjust with other healthcare providers. I used to talk to the patient, touch her, and give her confidence. They laughed at me saying that I was wasting too much time for a patient and after some days you would forget all these practices. But I do not want to forget because then I will start doing mistakes in providing the patient proper care. I am proud to be a midwife, a part of the new-born delivery. To me it is a great achievement. But I have to perform also the duties of a nurse and a paramedic that hampers my duties as a midwife. How can I create a positive environment where I can devote myself to the midwifery job?
This story illustrates the reality of our midwives. To address it we need to look at the larger issues of power structure, gender equality, our system and structure that are hampering our midwives' way forward. In Bangladesh the stories of the midwives need to be heard by the policy makers.
Comments
I have to perform also the duties of a nurse and a paramedic tha
a midwife, a part of the new-born delivery. To me it is a great achievement. But I have to perform also the duties of a nurse and a paramedic that hampers my duties as a midwife. How can I create a positive environment where I can devote myself to the midwifery job?
This story illustrates the reality of our midwives. To address it we need to look at the larger issues of power structure, gender equality, our system and structure that are hampering our midwives' way forward. In Bangladesh the stories of the midwives need to be heard by the policy makers.
I have to perform also the duties of a nurse and a paramedic tha
a midwife, a part of the new-born delivery. To me it is a great achievement. But I have to perform also the duties of a nurse and a paramedic that hampers my duties as a midwife. How can I create a positive environment where I can devote myself to the midwifery job?
This story illustrates the reality of our midwives. To address it we need to look at the larger issues of power structure, gender equality, our system and structure that are hampering our midwives' way forward. In Bangladesh the stories of the midwives need to be heard by the policy makers.