Panel Session: Midwives and Obstetricians joining forces to improve maternal and newborn health

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Panel Session Midwives and Obstetricians joining
forces to improve maternal and newborn health

•  An example of collaboration between Regional
  and National Midwifery Associations and Societies
  of Gyneacologists Obstetricians in Central and
  West Africa. Kinshasa, September 2007 

Atf Ghérissi, CM, MSc, PhD
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Context

• 9th SAGO (Société Africaine des Gynécologues
  Obstétriciens) 5th SCOGO (Société Congolaise
  des Gynécologues Obstétriciens) Conference.
  Kinshasa (DRC), 3-7 September 2007

• Attendance of the FASFACO (Fédération des
  Associations des
• Sages Femmes dAfrique Centrale et de
  lOuest) of Midwives

• International Assistance provided
• - UNFPA (Financial and Technical)
• - WHO-DRC (Logistics)
• - ICM (Technical)
• gt Planning of a Special Session for
  Midwives on the Agenda

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Process Coaching and Empowering

• Creating a team Presidents of the FASFACO and
  Midwifery Associations (FASFACO, Central Africa
  Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo)

• Developing/Adjusting an agenda for two hours
  session
• - 5/7 Presentations developed/made by
  Midwives
• - Roles distribution (Chair, co-Chair,
  Moderators, Speakers)

• Advocating with the SAGO and the SCOGO
  Presidents to
• plan/maintain a session on the agenda

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Content of the presentations

• Introducing of
• - the UNAAC (Union Nationale des Accoucheurs et
  Accoucheuses du Congo)
• - the FASFACO (Fédération des Associations des
  Sages Femmes dAfrique du
• Centre et de lOuest)

• Sharing the preliminary results of a survey
  conducted in 2006 by the
• FASFACO among its 13 member associations
  Midwifery situation in
• Central and West Africa (Answer rate 9/13)

• Sharing the outputs and outcomes of the First
  International Forum on
• Midwifery practice in the community.
  Lessons learned and
• Recommandations of ICM. Hammamet, Tunisia,
  December 2006

• Presenting the
• - African Midwifery competencies. WHO/AFRO
• - Midwifery competencies delegation
• - Perspectives for a Midwifery career plan

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76 Participants

• Midwives  Accoucheurs Accoucheuses  from DRC

• Presidents of Midwifery MAs in the FASFACO
  (Burkina Faso, Benin,
• Mali, Central Africa Republic)

• Boards of the SAGO and the SCOGO

• Obstetricians from different countries (DRC,
  Togo, Niger, Mali, Benin,
• Senegal, Cameroun, Congo-Brazzaville, .)

• Representatives of International Organisations
  WHO-HQ, WHO-DRC,
• UNFPA, UNICEF, IPAS, JHPIEGO, AWARE-RH
  (Action for West African
• Region)

• Representatives of an NGO working in the
  community

• Media Officers

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Outputs

• Very alive and passionated debate

• Session report

• Recommandations presented at the closing
  session of the
• Conference headed by the First Lady of DRC

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Situation analysis

• Disparity of Midwifery Curricula access,
  duration
• Proliferation of Midwifery Schools (private and
  public) with no regard to the norms of quality of
  Education
• Decreasing quality of Midwifery education
  comparatively to previous batches (tutoring,
  number of students not in adequacy with the
  education infrastructure)
• Midwives gathered in the city as the result of an
  inadequate management of human resources (work
  environment, motivation, isolation) and absence
  of willing to practice inside the country

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Situation analysis

• Absence of Midwifery career plan gt midwives,
  demotivated, abandon the profession
• Insufficient number of midwives trained 115
  /year/9 countries
• Creation of health facilities in the community
  without recrutment of qualified professionals

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Recommandations

• Midwifery Education
• - Revise/Harmonize midwifery curricula in
  the region ( baccalauréat 
• as a level of access, 3 years duration,
  part of the practical training)
• - Develop career plans for Midwives
  according to the perspective LMD
• - Improve Education, Training and Work
  environment for midwives

• Action points for the FASFACO
• - Conduct an investigation on Midwifery
  professional ethics
• - Finalize/Complete the survey conducted
  in the region and disseminate
• results
• - Build advocacy capacity of Midwifery MAs

• Action point for the UNAAC
• - Make a situation analysis of the
  Attendants in DRC and present the
• results at the next SAGO/SCOGO
  Conference

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Recommandations (Cont)

• Implement/Monitor national norms and procedures
  for women care

• Strengthen partnerships between Midwives and the
  Community to re-establish the trust relation with
  women

• Identify means to ensure adequate midwives
  distribution in the provinces incitative
  measures, compulsory professional training with
  fixed duration

• Mobilize all national, regional and international
  partners to follow up and concretize the
  recommandations of the session

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Lessons learned

• Technical assistance empowering and valorising
  midwives
• - offers guidance to follow the light
• - develops self-confidence
• - ensures unity inside the team and
  common objectives
• - ensures commitment

• Emotion/Valorization/Proudiness Midwives  at
  the center of the world 
• Respect/Interest
• Attention
• Motivation
• Common involvment, enthusiasm and Commitment

• Strong and Relevant outputs

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Challenges

• Ponctual commitment gt Keeping the flame alive

• Midwives not used to talk, to argue, to discuss
  with partners gt Need to develop a critical
  thinking

• Importance/Need for Follow up Work plan
  2007-2008

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Thank you!