BY SARAH HAFIZAH CHANDRA & AWANG MUHAMMAD SYAHMI
KUCHING: Midwifery is an essential aspect of medicine that deserves more attention and recognition, says Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
The Sarawak Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government pointed out that midwives not only played a critical role for mothers and newborns, but for women’s health.
“While midwifery is an important aspect of medicine, it is often taken for granted and not much attention is paid to it.
“One of the ways to measure success in midwifery is by looking at the maternal mortality rate. I was informed that Sarawak’s maternal mortality rate is quite similar to that of national, which is around 20 to 30 range in 100,000 live births.
“In Sarawak, there are some 6,596 nurses, out of this 3,405 have undergone midwifery (training). This shows how midwifery is a basic skill that our nurses have acquired.”
Dr Sim said this when launching the International Midwives’ Day Conference 2023 here on Friday (May 5).
Touching on the conference themed ‘Together Again: From Evidence to Reality’, he said it was a great platform for practitioners to come together to share experiences.
The two-day conference is organised by the Kuching Serian Branch of Sarawak Midwives’ Association in collaboration with the Nursing Unit of Sarawak Health Department, and Business Event Sarawak.
With the objectives of promoting a closer relationship among midwives locally, nationwide, and internationally as well updating midwives’ theory and knowledge to ensure safe and quality maternal care rendered to mothers and children, the conference is gathering practitioners from Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei, and Singapore.
“In this field, you want to practice based on evidence but sometimes the reality is quite different. Nonetheless, it is good to share the challenges identified.
“This is because knowing the challenges means knowing how to go further. With the advancement of technology, midwifery will come to progress, but this too poses some challenges on its own,” Dr Sim added.
Also present were deputy director-general of Health (Medical), Datuk Dr Asmayani Khalib; director of Nursing, Matron Devi K Saravana Muthu; Sarawak Health Department director Dr Ooi Choo Huck, Sarawak Midwives Association president Rosena Abdul Ghani, and organising chairperson Shirley Chan Cha Bo.
