Simmaly (left) and Amina.  --Photo UNFPA

A mother-daughter midwife team saves mothers and babies in Laos
                                                                                                                                           
Simmaly, 51, and Amina, 28, are a mother-daughter team of midwives whose work has helped save the lives of mothers and children in Champassak province in southern Laos. 
The mother and daughter have been inseparable over the past few months since UNFPA-trained Amina joined her mother at the Pathoumphone district hospital, with both women sharing a passion for maternal health. 
Amina is proud to follow in the footsteps of her mother: “When I was very young, I used to accompany my mother for her visits to see pregnant women. I saw her helping mothers to deliver their babies. 
“I saw these women suffering and struggling to get support, so I decided to become a midwife. I hope I can help all women in my village and those visiting from other villages to have safe pregnancies and give birth in the best conditions possible.”
Simmaly said she was proud of Amina and her other daughter who trained to become a medical doctor. To contribute to their community’s well-being, Simmaly chose to be a midwife because she recognised the significant role of midwives in saving lives and changing harmful norms.
“Around me, there were women who lost their lives because they had complications and no skilled midwives to support them. There were some who suffered because they had to cross borders to other countries to deliver. No woman should face this,” said Simmaly.
Reducing maternal mortality by ensuring voluntary family planning, safe pregnancy and childbirth through availability of qualified health professionals is one of UNFPA’s main interventions in support of the Ministry of Health in Laos. 
Since 2009, UNFPA has supported the country’s midwifery programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, and worked with the Lao Association of Midwives for midwifery system strengthening and skill building.  UNFPA partners include the Maternal Health Trust Fund, KOFIH and Luxembourg. 
UNFPA is supporting the establishment of three Centres of Excellence in Midwifery Education in Champassak, Luang Prabang and Xieng Khuang provinces to ensure their national and international accreditation. 
UNFPA’s support to midwifery in Laos has seen 2,397 midwives trained and a further 439 upskilled through to the higher diploma level in the past decade. 
These investments ensure that trained midwives deliver compassionate and respectful reproductive healthcare to women and families. 
When based in communities, midwives provide care for the hard-to-reach. When connected to a health network, midwives ensure that mothers, babies and families receive timely and optimal care.
UNFPA’s comprehensive support to the Ministry of Health and partners covers the full spectrum of education, capacitation and regulation of midwifery in Laos. 
A higher diploma course within the national curriculum for midwives meets international standards, while in-service midwives are trained for managing obstetric complications through the “low dose high frequency” training on postpartum hemorrhage and eclampsia. The establishment of the Lao Midwife Association in 2022 was a critical step for the regulation of the midwifery profession in Laos.  
However, there remains an unfinished agenda. Estimates show that about 200 health centres in Laos do not yet have a trained midwife. To meet the national goal of placing midwives in each health centre by 2030, there is a need to upgrade 1,200 midwives to the higher diploma level and a further 1,500 midwives need to be deployed to cover maternity care needs.
UNFPA encourages urgent action by the government and development partners to invest in trained and skilled midwives for prevention, treatment and early detection of reproductive health complications and timely referrals. It only costs US$3000 to train a midwife in Laos and it costs almost the same per year to deploy her. Investing in midwives saves lives.
--Source: UNFPA

(Latest Update October 19, 2022)