Midwifery Education News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Midwifery Education News
New Program Announcement: Midwife Clinical Immersion ProgramMidwifery Education News
April 10, 2012 – According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Investing in health systems—especially in midwife training and in making emergency obstetric care available round-the-clock—is key to reducing maternal mortality”, yet more then 58 countries lack enough qualified midwives to provide timely access to skilled healthcare for mothers and infants. Midwifery Education News
Midwife International is working to bridge this maternal healthcare gap by offering a 1-year midwife training option in resource-constrained areas around the world including Honduras, India, Cameroon and South Africa in 2013. Our integrated curriculum will combine hands-on skills training and academic study with leadership training. No other midwife training program emphasizes shared resources and knowledge across international and cultural boundaries, fusing remote clinics as a conduit for innovation in maternal healthcare.
Throughout the course of study, students will benefit from an exchange with other students from a variety of backgrounds, and with midwifery experts and local health workers. Our innovative program will integrate community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and improve access to maternal healthcare at the community level. We welcome students who are already on their path to become a Certified Professional Midwife or Nurse-Midwife, as well as those who are deciding whether or not they want to become a midwife, and want to include international experience as part of their midwife training.
MIDWIFE TRAINING APPLICATIONS DUE SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 Midwifery Education News
We are now accepting applications, with an early enrollment option for those who submit by June 1, 2012 and a final deadline of September 10, 2012. Students will be placed at clinical sites according to a selection and matching process and should be prepared to study at any of our locations. Training will begin in February 2013. Our midwife training program application period is open, apply now.
Midwives who represent culturally specific approaches as well as international standards of midwifery care will lead curriculum. Experienced professional midwives who are practicing CNMs or are NARM certified and would like to volunteer as site preceptors or guest teachers are welcome to apply. These individuals should be ready to teach midwifery material in addition to providing hands-on assistance for a minimum of 2-months, up to 1-year. Apply now to become a volunteer preceptor or visiting teacher.
According to the UNFPA, “The evidence is clear: investing in midwifery saves lives. A return on investment calculation has shown that across 58 countries as many as 3.6 million maternal, fetal and newborn deaths per year could be averted if all women had access to the full package of reproductive, maternal and newborn care. Midwives and the midwifery workforce are important in the provision of all these services.” That’s why Midwife International is working to train a global network of professional midwives who are equipped to improve service delivery and create demand for high-quality maternity care in underserved regions across the globe.
To learn more about Midwife International click here.
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Features
MOTHERS ADVOCATE Midwifery Education News
Midwife International Co-Founder, Sarah Proechel, CPM, discusses her perspective on hospital interventions in Guatemala. Click here to read Sarah’s Interview on Mother’s Advocate.
BERKSHIRE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Midwifery Education News
Berkshire Community College Blog features Midwife International Co-Founder, Sarah Proechel, CPM, who is using her language skills and passion for women’s health to teach midwifery to indigenous women in Guatemala. Click here to read the BCC highlight.
Publications
Voices of Maya Midwives: Oral Histories of Practicing Traditional Midwives from the Mam Region of Guatemala Midwifery Education News
By Sarah Proechel, Midwife International Co-Founder and Guatemala Clinical Director
This original field study is an oral history project that tells the stories of six traditional Maya midwives from the Mam area of Guatemala. The midwives interviewed are from in and around the town of Concepcion Chiquirichapa, Guatemala. Part one explains the motivation behind this project, the methodology used, and my reflections and analysis. Part Two provides the broader context of Maya healing traditions and the issue of high
maternal mortality rates in Guatemala and their relationship to midwifery care. Part Three contains the stories of six midwives who were interviewed in or near their homes in March of 2004. Part three also contains seven profiles of individual plants that are used medicinally by the midwives and women of Concepcion Chiquirichapa. There are additional profiles of the temascal (traditional Mesoamerican sweatbath) and the jabon negro (a black soap made by women in the community.)
Print: $26.82
Maternal Mortality as a Social Disease in Guatemala: The Culture, the system and the disintegrating social fabric Midwifery Education News
By Sarah Proechel, Midwife International Co-Founder and Guatemala Clinical Director
This paper examines the relationship between the practice of traditional midwifery in the home setting and the relatively high rates of maternal mortality in Guatemala. While global discourse around high rates of maternal mortality in developing countries centers around medical causes of death and the need for skilled personnel to attend births, the results of this small study suggest that we may want to look deeper into social issues to discover what is really needed to keep mothers from dying in childbirth.
