Coronavirus: Midwives extolled for bravery

Mrs Netta Forson-Ackon, the President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), on Tuesday applauded the midwives for their courage and skilful execution of their duties in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the rate of spread of the infection posed great danger to healthcare delivery, midwives the world over had remained resolute, delivering sustained midwifery services to their clients at the expense of their own lives and stigmatisation, she said.

Mrs Forson-Ackon encouraged them to continue with their good works whilst they strictly observed all the safety protocols to protect themselves from the infection.

She explained that adhering to the preventive protocols would also0 shield their clients from all forms of disease contamination and spreading them to others beyond the health facility level.

Mrs Forson-Ackon gave the commendation at the virtual launch of the 29th celebration of the International Day of the Midwife in Accra.

The celebration, on the theme: “Midwives with Women: celebrate, demonstrate, mobilise, unite - the time is NOW!” was chosen to highlight the core duties of midwifery practice in women’s health.

The work of a midwife span pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, labour, delivery, post-delivery, and family planning including sexual, reproductive and child health.

She underscored the pivotal role of midwives in the provision of Universal Health Care and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Mrs Forson-Ackon called for their celebration because “with the presence of the COVID-19, which we seem not to understand fully the disease and its transmission pattern, we are working with few PPE to make a difference.”

“You aim at a final goal where mother Ghana would win the fight against the deadly disease with mothers and their newborn babies still looking healthy”.

She thanked the Government and the Ministry of Health for their role in the fight against the pandemic and called for the supply of more PPE to midwives to enable them to work better.

She stated the COVID-19 affected the attendance of antenatal and family planning clinics resulting in a massive drop, which could lead to complications during pregnancy and labour and may increase maternal and infant mortality and morbidity.

“There was also the likelihood that the record of unwanted pregnancies could go up due to lapses in patient’s family planning regimen,” she said.

The GRNMA President, however, appealed to the Government to provide midwives across the country with psychological counselling to help them to maintain their self and professional confidence in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Bernard Okoe-Boye, the Deputy Minister of Health, said the Ministry of Finance had given clearance for the employment of 20,000 nurses.

He gave the assurance that the provision of PPE to health practitioners would be sustained to heighten use by all healthcare workers.

He, however, spoke about the low coverage of reproductive health education as well as immunisation programmes in the era of the COVID-19 and encouraged midwifery professionals to mobilise and offer midwife-led care to motivate their clients.

Dr Okoe-Boye urged midwives to create an environment, which would give their clients the assurance of their safety from any form of infection during their visit to health facilities.