DOHA: Midwifery is evidence-based and plays a vital role in meeting the challenges of providing high-quality maternal and newborn care for all women and newborn infants around the world and its is increasing in Qatar, says a senior official at the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).
A total of 25,186 babies were born in 2017 across HMC’s facilities and midwives played a supporting role in many of those births, said Dr. Nicola Ryley, Chief Nursing Officer at HMC during a International Day of the Midwife celebrations held on recently.
More than 250 nurses, midwives, and special guests assembled at HMC’s Bayt Al Dhiyafah for a series of lectures focused on the continuing professional development of this specialist health profession. The role of midwives as autonomous healthcare providers who can care directly for women and their newborns and also ensure the timely identification of women who would benefit from physician-led care was highlighted.
Dr Ryley said, “Midwives are essential to providing quality, respectful maternal and newborn care. They are instrumental in providing women and their families with valuable education concerning immediate and future maternal and infant health considerations.”
She added that more than 1585 registered midwives are currently providing maternal and neonatal care at the Women’s Hospital, Women’s Wellness and Research Center, and Al Wakra, Al Khor, and The Cuban Hospitals.
“The Nursing and Midwifery Executive Committee decided to mark the International Day of the Midwife with a combination of educational and fun activities as we celebrate the leadership and quality of care that midwives contribute to the miracle of birth. Midwifery is evidence-based and plays a vital role in meeting the challenges of providing high-quality maternal and newborn care for all women and newborn infants around the world,”added Dr Ryley.
