October 11, 2019
A two-day regional midwifery summit concluded on Thursday at a local hotel in Karachi with a joint declaration to improve maternal health, reduce rate of Caesarean section (C-section) surgeries and create mass awareness about family planning in Saarc and regional countries.
Organised by the Midwifery Association of Pakistan in collaboration with foreign and local partners, the conference was attended by delegations from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Turkey, Iran, Ireland, the UK and Thailand as well as 700 midwives from across Pakistan.
The theme of the conference was ‘Midwives — the defenders of women’s rights’.
In her keynote inaugural address, Shiela Suguru from Ireland traced the history of midwifery in her home country and said the relevant law was passed in 1918 and over the last 100 years midwives had proved that progress on maternal death was not possible without their support.
“In future, world midwives will be dealing with normal pregnancies without invasive methods such as C-section. The modern midwife is helping obstetricians and not competing with them.”
All governments should value their midwives and make sure that they were protected and working in the best possible environment, she added.
In her speech, Dr Nighat Shah expressed concern over the increasing cases of C-section and failure of family planning efforts in Pakistan and held doctors responsible for this situation.
“It’s time that care of women should go into the hands of midwives who are sensitive, have great passion and commitment for their patients,” she said, adding that every midwife should help promote family planning.
Midwifery Association of Pakistan president Arusa Lakhani urged midwifes to come forward, work hard and play their due role with competency.
Prof Sadiqua Jaffery congratulated the organisers and participants for holding the conference and educating young midwives on maternal death.
She said it’s not possible to fight against the evil of maternal death without an army of midwives armed with skill, love and spirit to improve the existing situation.
Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho was the chief guest.
Regional Midwifery Summit 2019