Midwives described as unsung heroes

May 06, 2017 News

-as International Day of Midwives is observed
Midwives were placed in the spotlight on Thursday when the Midwives Association of Guyana in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and the United Nations Population Fund [UNFPA] held a forum at the Kingston,

A section of the midwives at yesterday’s forum.

Georgetown, Umana Yana.
The forum held under the theme: “Midwives, Mothers and Families: partners for life” represented Guyana’s way of observing International Day of the Midwives which is observed annually on May 5, 2017.
Moreover, honouring the local midwives came a day early this year. Usually the observance of International Day of the Midwives is designed to bring awareness to the role and responsibilities of Midwives in Guyana; to support and honour midwives for the work they do and to support efforts of policy holders, key partners and stakeholders in the investment of a key human resource strategy in accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal Three.
Goal three of the SDGs speaks to ensuring the health and well-being of all, at every stage of life. Moreover, the goal addresses all major health priorities including reproductive, maternal and child health; communicable and environmental diseases; universal health coverage and access for all to safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines and vaccines. It also calls for more research and development, increased health financing and strengthened capacity of all countries in health risk reduction and management.
Key to achieving the maternal and child health aspect of the goal are midwives. This notion was particularly emphasized during yesterday’s forum.
Among those lauding the efforts of the nation’s midwives were: Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud; Director of Regional Health Services, Dr. Kay Shako; Director of Maternal and Child Health, Dr. Ertenisa Hamilton; Chief Nursing Officer, Ms. Tarramattie Barker; Midwifery Advisor – Ms. Mandy La Fleur, and Director of Health Sciences Education, Mr. Wilton Benn, who noted that midwives can easily be described as unsung heroes for the role that they play.
Also coming out of the forum yesterday was the call for greater partnership with the Midwives Association of Guyana and other relevant organisations to ensure growth and development of the Association.
Speaking at the forum on Thursday the Chief Medical Officer applauded the midwives for their contribution to the healthcare sector. He also expressed hope that the midwives remain focused on providing support to help assist in improving the maternal and neonatal healthcare services in the country.
Adding to Dr. Persaud’s deliberation was Dr. Shako who said that midwives must monitor their own and other people’s feelings when caring for their patients. “(Midwives) would agree with me, that there are times when you need to control your emotion when attending to a patient to prevent any misunderstanding. If you don’t, there would be exchange of words so as midwives, you do need to have self-regulation,” Dr. Shako explained.
She noted that midwives hold an important place in the health sector since they work beyond their call of duty with little resources. The Regional Health Services Director noted that doctors should also listen to the advice given by the midwives with regards to providing appropriate healthcare services to their patients.
The idea of International Day of the Midwives was established by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) following the suggestions and discussions in the late 1980s which was formally launched in 1992.

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