Challenge for midwives

 MIDWIVES have been urged to provide quality maternity service to child bearing mothers.

PNG Midwife Association president Dr Nancy Buasi challenged midwives to give their best if they want to see improvement in maternal mortality rate.

Buasi said this after attending attended the 30th Triennial Congress in Prague, Czech Republic, last month. 

She said the meeting was an opportunity for the midwives from around the world to reflect and make plans for a change in maternity services.

She said PNG had the highest maternal mortality rate in the world – 733 deaths per 100,000 – and needed to make drastic improvement.

“The congress was an eye-opener that midwifery encompassed a whole range of strategies available to provide holistic care to women, babies and their family,” Buasi said.

“Midwives in PNG still need to see as well as understand concepts, accept and implement in PNG, changing current practice to improve services for PNG women.

“Women trust midwives to provide them with kind, competent maternity care and sometimes our practice is less than acceptable here in PNG.”