UNDERSCORING their importance in ensuring the safety of pregnant women and unborn children, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, has said that midwives should be celebrated every day for the hard work that they do.

“Midwives play a very important role in our health system in Guyana and throughout the world. Most of our births now are done institutionally and in a safe and secure manner, and that’s because over the years, the Government of Guyana has invested a lot to ensure that our midwives are trained so that they can be the best at their jobs,” he told the Guyana Chronicle earlier this week ahead of International Day of Midwives (IDM).

On Friday, midwives across Guyana joined the rest of the world in celebrating this special day under the theme, “Together again: from evidence to reality.”

Dr. Anthony emphasised that he wanted to recognise all the midwives across Guyana for “the excellent work that they have been doing, the sacrifices that they have been making, their selfless acts of kindness, but more importantly, the many lives that they have saved over the years.”

Minister Anthony noted that “birth attendance” was a major challenge a few years ago, before pointing out that there were many instances were persons were performing deliveries at home.
According to him, at-home deliveries can cause a lot of complications, which may end in death if the woman does not reach the hospital in time.

According to Minister Anthony, one of the things that the government and health officials are working on, is ensuring that pregnant mothers attend clinic in their first, second, and third trimesters.

He explained that “this is very important as in each of these phases, we are able to do proper evaluation and identify mothers who will be at risk, and midwives are trained to do all of this.”
Dr. Anthony further explained that the government has built a “waiting home” in the compound of several rural hospitals to accommodate pregnant women until they are ready to give birth.
This, according to Minister Anthony, will be more convenient and helpful to the mothers than having them wait at home or in their villages with little to no medical attention.

“We have set up waiting homes in Regions Nine, One, Seven, and Eight. Having them wait in the waiting home until they go into labour after which they go over or are taken to the hospital which is in the same compound. After delivery, the mothers can go back into the waiting home and spend a few days before they go back home. All the while, the midwives will attend to them so that they can feel safer knowing that they are in safe hands. We have also found that that has been a very effective way of preventing death in pregnant women,” he added.

The minister told this publication that these mothers have, on many occasions, given birth on the way to the hospital, which, according to him, can result in serious complications for both the mother and the unborn child.

Minister Anthony said that the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation has organised a Nurses in Concert event.

Additionally, the Ministry of Health has planned a number of activities for the upcoming Nurses Week, during which midwives will also be celebrated.