Shortage of midwives

By ZINA KOIM
PAPUA New Guinea’s 1,314 registered midwives are fewer than half of what is required in the country, says national president of the Midwifery Society Sr Mary Sitaing.
This number is not enough to cater for the demand.
“We need 8,000 midwives throughout the country; 1,314 is not enough,” Sitaing said.
When honoring the International Day of Midwives on Friday, Sitaing said this required investing more in educating and deploying midwives into the health sector to address the severe shortage.
“We want to work, but we need politicians to support us,” she said.
The way to address this, Sitaing said, would be for all 96 districts around the country to send one or two midwives under DSIP funding to take up midwifery studies every year. On top of that, all hospitals were to send three to five nurses to take up midwifery studies.
“It is never too late,” she said.
She said despite the challenges, the midwives had continued to deliver and maintain maternal neonatal and women health care services.
Sitaing also called on the Government to look into the issues relating to women and neonatal health care plans.
“We need more trained midwives to service the growing population,” she said.
“Our health facilities must be fully resourced for an effective and quality maternal and neonatal health care delivery.”
She also urged the National Capital District Commission and the NCD Provincial Health Authority to immediately set up a birthing facility to release the pressure and workload faced by the Port Moresby General Hospital.
“Create midwives’ positions in all provincial health authorities,” she said.