Tanzania’s Dire Need for Midwives

In Tanzania, the ratio of midwives to patients is one to 40, quite a difference from the World Health Organization’s suggested ratio of one to six. The lack of health care professionals available to expectant mothers results in high death rates: 800 of every 100,000 women die. According to a 2010 Health Survey, only half of mothers get any sort of professional medical attention during labor. Midwives find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer volume of patients and are often unable to give the necessary time and attention to each patient. When a patient or a patient’s baby dies, blame is immediately foisted onto the midwives who are unfortunately often overworked, stressed from dealing with endless patients, and not given adequate resources or clean facilities.

As a result, groups such as the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood have been urging the government to encourage students to take courses in midwifery and pursue it as a career. The job is not appealing to most students because of its poor working conditions, low pay, and lack of public regard. Unfortunately, because of these issues, midwifery schools that once taught 300 students are now finding themselves with only 25 reluctant pupils who enrolled as a last resort. The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood put together a promotional advertisement to combat the public disregard for midwives, and hopefully, the Tanzanian government can step up and include midwifery courses in student course selection forms in order to boost interest.

Creative Commons Love: Gates Foundation on Flickr.com

Written by Susie Hufford