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Midwifery in Kenya

During the break I received a lovely letter from a midwife in Kenya. She had written to me before and this letter was an update on her work. I will share some of its contents with you, as I am sure she would be pleased for others to know a little more about midwifery in Kenya.

“When I first approached you for information I was working in a project which was located in a maternity ward with 15 beds. My role was a research midwife, I was overwhelmed by the numbers of maternal deaths and the many problems facing the mothers I encountered. I, most of the time, shed tears, and I felt a need to look for information of any kind which could help me and the other midwives deal with those situations better. Thank you for the journals, but I think if I could manage attending a workshop this would have been most appropriate.

Then I left maternity and worked in a High Dependency Unit (paediatrics) within the district hospital. My attention to midwifery issues was also disrupted......

From the beginning of December 2004 I am in a project which has a component in MCH and in a maternity ward, immunising newborns. This is now a modern maternity newly built with 36 beds, 2 spacious nurseries with 2 incubators, a spacious labour ward covering a whole width on one end of the building, with 4 delivery beds, well spaced, a baby resuscitator and about 150 deliveries per month.

Lastly, is to say that I would like to build myself up on the research experiences I have had within the midwifery field, and since I feel I may not be able to attend the workshop [the Preparing for birth Conference in the UK ] due to financial constraints, I would request if I can be sent something to read on topics such as “involving fathers’ “about pain” and “2nd stage issues”.

I will be sending her a package of reprints and articles and hope they will help her in her work. The tsunami crisis in South East Asia has highlighted the need for us all to work as one world towards bettering the life of others, and we can all play a small role in this. In this instance it is a midwife from Kenya who wants help......

Posted by andrea at January 13, 2005 07:13 AM