Midwives: they tell us about their daily lives
Agathe is still single. The eldest daughter in a family of 12 children, she is 28 years old. After her secondary education in Bukavu, she went to study at a technical school in Katana (ITEM), on the other side of the lake.
Agathe has been working for three years and began her career as a midwife in a health center on Idjwi Island. A perfectionist and conscientious, she joined the maternity staff at Monvu Hospital a year ago. The hospital's head doctor regularly asks her to assist him in the operating room for cesarean sections.
The state doesn't fund salaries and relies on hospital revenue to pay staff. When the hospital is full, revenue is $10,000 per month. That's 65 salaries to pay each month. Agathe never receives more than $80 a month. Sometimes it's only $10 or $15!
Agathe
Agathe is still single. The eldest of 12 children, she is 28 years old. After completing her secondary education in Bukavu, she went to study at a technical school in Katana (ITEM), on the other side of the lake. Agathe has been working for three years and began her career as a midwife at a health center on Idjwi Island. A perfectionist and conscientious, she joined the maternity staff at Monvu Hospital a year ago. The hospital's head doctor regularly asks her to assist him in the operating room for cesarean sections.
The state doesn't fund salaries and relies on hospital revenue to pay staff. When the hospital is full, revenue is $10,000 per month. That's 65 salaries to pay each month. Agathe never receives more than $80 a month. Sometimes it's only $10 or $15!
Gisèle
“Being a midwife is a beautiful profession, because you live alongside these women, you listen to their stories, and you share their moments of sadness and happiness. This is particularly important when poverty continues to increase. I have helped hundreds of women give birth at home. Their relatives would come begging me to take care of their wives, sisters, and daughters. I myself was pregnant, but I walked long distances because I knew I was the only midwife in the entire region.”
Angeline
Prenatal care is too expensive.
Angeline is 32 years old. During labor for her eighth child, she manages to smile despite her contractions. Like many women in Idjwi, her babies born in the last five years were born at home – not by choice, but out of necessity.
“I gave birth three times at home,” said Angeline. “Each time, the rainy season prevented me from going to the hospital, and I had to give birth at home. The roads were impassable, even by motorbike. I was afraid for my baby and for myself.”
Context
"In many African countries, one in two women gives birth alone, and nearly 200,000 women die each year due to a lack of basic care during pregnancy and childbirth. Yet, 80% of these deaths could be prevented by midwives."
On Idjwi Island, the health situation is particularly alarming. Distances to the nearest health center are vast, and most of these centers lack water and electricity. Often impassable roads and limited means of transport (on foot or by motorcycle) contribute to the mortality of pregnant women requiring cesarean sections and children involved in road accidents. Ambulances are not always accessible during the rainy season. There is only one referral hospital, located in the far south of the island (40 km wide and 90 km long). The hospital has a capacity of 150 beds, with 200 births per month and a cesarean section rate exceeding 20%. It is equipped with a Byniola, a waiting house for women about to give birth. These women sometimes wait for more than three weeks before giving birth, leaving their many other children alone in the village, cared for by an aunt or close friend. During this entire waiting period, the fields go uncultivated, and the family sinks deeper and deeper into poverty. A family lives on average less than $1 a day.
Vision
"To build health systems that meet women's needs, MMS invests in midwives through training, capacity building, and all the necessary equipment. MMS's objective is to improve their working conditions to combat maternal and infant mortality and is making every effort to acquire medical equipment and install solar electricity in several health centers."
