By SITEMBILE SIWAWA
“ONE incident that has never left my mind during my time in labour ward was when a pregnant woman in advanced labour failed to walk to the delivery room from the waiting bay. A midwife hit her so hard on her back that the baby and placenta fell out,” recounted Ethel Mwamba (not real name).
“When I was a student midwife, I witnessed an incident where a midwife pulled the labia of a woman in labour because, according to her, the woman was not cooperating. And during a vaginal examination, the woman was not comfortable but was told that the midwife’s hand was not as big as her husband’s penis which made her pregnant,” narrated Mwangala Maimbo (not real name¬).
“I remember when I was in labour; I was scared to scream out in pain for fear of being told that I was not a teenager that I should be giving midwives problems,” Memory Chitembo (not real name) sadly recalled.
These and many more are complaints women and perhaps their husbands in our communities have over the way expectant women at maternity wings in various public health centres are treated by midwives.
However, Chibeka Kasonkolo, a midwife at Chipata First Level Hospital in Lusaka, was quick to defend her colleagues saying “midwives work under stressful conditions and in most instances are understaffed”.
Ms Kasonkolo said midwives have a strategy where they give priority to young girls who are in labour for the first time as opposed to a woman who has had a child before.
She stressed that people should not see midwives as ‘super heroes’ but rather as people capable of making mistakes too.
Conceivably, to bring sanity to the noble profession and career that has been in existence for decades but has been characterised with a bad name; the Midwives Association of Zambia (MAD) last week launched a campaign dubbed: Respectful Maternity Care.
This campaign is aimed at helping healthcare workers and midwives tackle disrespect and abuse that expectant mothers endure at some facilities during childbirth.
MAZ president Genevieve Musokwa said the campaign is timely as it will improve attitudes of midwives towards expectant mothers and encourage mothers to also accord respect to midwives.
Ms Musokwa noted with concern that although some expectant mothers attend antenatal classes they prefer not to deliver their babies from health facilities due to bad attitudes of some midwives.
She is of the view that “the bad attitude of some midwives has contributed to the high maternal and morbidity cases the country is still grappling with”.
The campaign will be rolled out this week to all midwives in Lusaka before it is taken to other provinces. Others expected to join in are cleaning staff who are also reported to have a bad attitude towards expectant mothers.
“Come Monday, we shall convene all midwives to a campaign meeting so that they understand what is required of their noble profession,” she said.
Ms Musokwa was quick to advise student midwives to join the profession not for the money but to save lives of mothers and children.
Additionally, Health Minister Joseph Kasonde commended MAZ for the initiative as it will promote care that is sensitive to social and cultural needs in the provision of maternal and neo-natal services.
He said the campaign is a step in the right direction and that his ministry will support and encourage it. However, he said there is need to improve communication between the community and midwives.
“We cannot blame midwives in totality but rather it is a communication strategy that we need between communities and midwives,” he said.
“We are looking seriously into improving the quality of care offered by our midwives by bettering the quality of midwifery education and regulation.”
Dr Kasonde said this will contribute to reducing maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality.
And Content Development expert at General Nursing Council David Mbewe said the public has the right to lodge complaints over the bad attitude of some midwives.
Mr Mbewe said once a complaint is lodged, investigations are instituted to gather evidence so that a midwife is disciplined according to law by being barred from participating in the council activities.
“Once a midwife is barred and removed from the register it is difficult for such a person to receive recommendation from us in case they want to pursue a different field,” he said.
He has since advised midwives to report any bad attitude exhibited by their colleagues to relevant authorities.
“Failure to report bad behaviour exhibited by your colleagues to relevant authorities is also tantamount to committing a similar offence,” Mr Mbewe stressed.
Senior registration officer at the Health Profession Council of Zambia Bwembya Bwalya said the campaign will re-create a good picture midwives are supposed to have; to save lives. He also reiterated calls for midwives to report incidences of bad behaviour rather than keeping quiet.
“It is better to stand out as a professional than follow bad eggs in the system. The bad attitude we see sometimes is a reflection that some midwives need to go back to school as they left the institutions years ago,” Mr Bwalya said.
“I remember when I was in labour; I was scared to scream out in pain for fear of being told that I was not a teenager that I should be giving midwives problems,” Memory Chitembo (not real name) sadly recalled.
These and many more are complaints women and perhaps their husbands in our communities have over the way expectant women at maternity wings in various public health centres are treated by midwives.
However, Chibeka Kasonkolo, a midwife at Chipata First Level Hospital in Lusaka, was quick to defend her colleagues saying “midwives work under stressful conditions and in most instances are understaffed”.
Ms Kasonkolo said midwives have a strategy where they give priority to young girls who are in labour for the first time as opposed to a woman who has had a child before.
She stressed that people should not see midwives as ‘super heroes’ but rather as people capable of making mistakes too.
Conceivably, to bring sanity to the noble profession and career that has been in existence for decades but has been characterised with a bad name; the Midwives Association of Zambia (MAD) last week launched a campaign dubbed: Respectful Maternity Care.
This campaign is aimed at helping healthcare workers and midwives tackle disrespect and abuse that expectant mothers endure at some facilities during childbirth.
MAZ president Genevieve Musokwa said the campaign is timely as it will improve attitudes of midwives towards expectant mothers and encourage mothers to also accord respect to midwives.
Ms Musokwa noted with concern that although some expectant mothers attend antenatal classes they prefer not to deliver their babies from health facilities due to bad attitudes of some midwives.
She is of the view that “the bad attitude of some midwives has contributed to the high maternal and morbidity cases the country is still grappling with”.
The campaign will be rolled out this week to all midwives in Lusaka before it is taken to other provinces. Others expected to join in are cleaning staff who are also reported to have a bad attitude towards expectant mothers.
“Come Monday, we shall convene all midwives to a campaign meeting so that they understand what is required of their noble profession,” she said.
Ms Musokwa was quick to advise student midwives to join the profession not for the money but to save lives of mothers and children.
Additionally, Health Minister Joseph Kasonde commended MAZ for the initiative as it will promote care that is sensitive to social and cultural needs in the provision of maternal and neo-natal services.
He said the campaign is a step in the right direction and that his ministry will support and encourage it. However, he said there is need to improve communication between the community and midwives.
“We cannot blame midwives in totality but rather it is a communication strategy that we need between communities and midwives,” he said.
“We are looking seriously into improving the quality of care offered by our midwives by bettering the quality of midwifery education and regulation.”
Dr Kasonde said this will contribute to reducing maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality.
And Content Development expert at General Nursing Council David Mbewe said the public has the right to lodge complaints over the bad attitude of some midwives.
Mr Mbewe said once a complaint is lodged, investigations are instituted to gather evidence so that a midwife is disciplined according to law by being barred from participating in the council activities.
“Once a midwife is barred and removed from the register it is difficult for such a person to receive recommendation from us in case they want to pursue a different field,” he said.
He has since advised midwives to report any bad attitude exhibited by their colleagues to relevant authorities.
“Failure to report bad behaviour exhibited by your colleagues to relevant authorities is also tantamount to committing a similar offence,” Mr Mbewe stressed.
Senior registration officer at the Health Profession Council of Zambia Bwembya Bwalya said the campaign will re-create a good picture midwives are supposed to have; to save lives. He also reiterated calls for midwives to report incidences of bad behaviour rather than keeping quiet.
“It is better to stand out as a professional than follow bad eggs in the system. The bad attitude we see sometimes is a reflection that some midwives need to go back to school as they left the institutions years ago,” Mr Bwalya said.
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