Hamlin Midwives making a difference
This Christmas, through our Big Give Christmas Challenge Appeal Hamlin Midwives Save Lives we are aiming to raise £20,000 to support the training and deployment of Hamlin midwives across Ethiopia.
Every day practising Hamlin midwives at government health centres across Ethiopia are providing quality maternal health care to thousands of women. Day to day services offered by midwives include family planning support, antenatal care (Hamlin midwives typically see a woman four times during the course of their pregnancy), delivery and postnatal care.
This year Hamlin is supporting 52 health centres where Hamlin midwives are based across Ethiopia, providing essential drugs and equipment and improving services for over 25,000 women.
Hamlin midwives are all posted in the regions where they are originally from, which means that – vitally – they understand the local language and culture and how best to educate their local community about preventing fistula, antenatal and postnatal care and family planning.
Midwives like Sister Belen, 30, pictured, who was recently appointed as Head of Teticha Health Centre in Ethiopia’s southern Sidama region.
Sister Belen has done a huge amount to increase the number of rural women coming forward to the health centre for maternal health care. This has included having a traditional tukul hut built in the grounds of the health centre to encourage women who would prefer to give birth in a home-like environment to come to the health centre for their delivery.
Sister Belen’s local connection has a hugely positive impact on her and her colleagues’ community mobilization activities to encourage women to come forward for services.
Hamlin midwives have continued to provide vital services to women throughout the pandemic and are supporting the Ethiopian Government’s initiative for community health workers to raise awareness about how to prevent Covid-19 infection.
Aster, pictured, works together with Belen at Teticha health centre and typically sees around 16 pregnant women each day alongside her work to mobilise the community. Her patient Yeti, (also pictured, with her baby) told us having the midwives at the health centre is vital for her remote community, where transport to bigger towns is not easily available for families living in poverty.
“Hamlin midwives are vital for our rural community”.
Yeti, new mum
Over the past year Hamlin midwives have delivered over 22,000 babies and saved many mothers from suffering an obstetric fistula, as well as preventing hundreds of maternal and neonatal deaths.
By donating online during the Big Give Christmas Challenge this week you can double your impact – and help us raise £20,000 to enable Hamlin midwives to deliver quality maternal health care in rural areas – preventing fistula and saving lives.
