B*N*S*N4

Midwives Deliver Hope for Afghan Women

86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (MTN)

Story by Staff Sgt. Whitney Hughes

Date: 04.19.2010
Posted: 04.19.2010 06:16

CHARIKAR, Afghanistan - Stretch marks, maternity leave, baby names, mood swings, morning sickness; these are some of the many concerns that weigh on a woman's mind during pregnancy. With all of the changes to her body, and soon to her life, there is much for a pregnant woman to worry about. But in Afghanistan, the country with the world's 4th highest Maternal Mortality Rate, women must first worry about their very survival.

Especially in remote areas of the country, away from state of the art technology, medications, and hospitals women's lives and their pregnancies are at risk because of the lack of medical care. That is why the class of 29 women from Kapisa, Parwan, and Panjshir provinces who graduated as midwives became an essential piece of Afghanistan's medical community, April 10.

"If a woman becomes sick [during pregnancy] she cannot tell a male doctor the real problem. Now they have somebody to go to. The midwife is a champion for Afghan women, they have bravery and zeal," said Abdul Basir Salangi, the Governor of Parwan. Salangi was one of the many government officials, including the Governor of Kapisa and Health Ministry Officials, who showed up to congratulate the midwives on their momentous achievement.

The graduation ceremony was the culmination of 18 months of training, all of which was to International Midwifery Standards, included studying in labs, libraries, and hospitals, according to Dr. Hamidi Shahgowl, the manager of the midwife students at the midwife academy in Charikar....

And there is more, here.