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Kenya's midwives want midwifery recognised as an independent profession as opposed to being referred to as part of nursing.
The Midwives Chapter of the National Nurses Association of Kenya (NNAK) Chairperson, Louisa Muteti, said midwifery has come of age as a profession, with institutions offering diploma, degree and Master's midwifery programmes.
Ms Muteti said as opposed to traditional midwives, who lacked skills in safe delivery, professionally-trained midwives were trained to advise expectant women on the need for good nutrition, avoiding stress and dealing with after-birth bleeding, sepsis and hypertension among other complications.
"As things currently stand, midwives have not been given the recognition they deserve despite having a vital role in reducing maternal and newborn mortality rate," said Muteti yesterday when she addressed the Press during the 21st Kenya Midwives Chapter Annual Scientific Conference at Reef Hotel in Mombasa.
She said as opposed to nurses who take care of the sick, midwives were tasked with the role of ensuring that expectant mothers, who were not necessarily sick, had safe deliveries and healthy babies, a task which she said was delicate and needed round-the-clock monitoring by qualified midwives who were not bogged down by nursing duties.
Muteti further said that recognising midwifery as an independent profession would see hospitals acquire necessary equipment as well as set aside funds for research and training of midwives.
She said only 2,500 midwives are registered under NNAK, adding there was a deficit of close to 30,000 midwives in the country. "Time has come for the Government to come up with policy that will see a clear separation of the nursing and midwifery cadres," said Muteti.
She said recognition of midwifery stood to benefit counties as midwives will offer services in health facilities and at household level, a move she said would go a long way in reducing maternal and new born mortality rates.
Muteti said it takes three years to train a midwife. The Government shelved the programme to train midwives in the 1990s and midwifery is still taught under nursing.
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