S5, E3: Bring back the midwife | Tell it like it is
One of the reasons women drop out of the workforce is, of course, childbirth. Troubling as that is, even today, many women risk their lives during pregnancy and childbirth. A key indicator of maternal mortality is the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR). Recently, the Government of India published MMR for 2016–18 which stood at 113. To put this into context, the target 3.1 of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by United Nations aims at reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births. So, what can be done?
Countries like Canada, Sri Lanka, Australia and the UK have combated MMR by introducing trained midwives into the process, vital to the care and delivery of low-risk pregnant women.
It is important to mention here that about 75% of all pregnant women fall in the low-risk category and it is the 25% cases that are complicated and require an obstetrician’s attention.
With over 25 million children born every year in India, and only 86,000 professionally trained midwives, there is a huge gap.
My guest is Dr. Evita Fernandez, Chairperson-Fernandez Foundation, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She is the recipient of The Lifetime Achievement in Healthcare Award by FICCI, Hyderabad, besides other awards. In 2017, the Government of Telangana felicitated her for rendering exemplary services in the Field of Medicine. In 2011, she introduced a Professional Midwifery Education and Training Programme, committed to creating a national cadre of professional midwives. I caught up with her to understand how midwifery could be the solution to helping millions of women enjoy childbirth and have agency over their own bodies.
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