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As a midwife working for Médecins Sans Frontières your ability to deal with women at risk and to respond to emergency situation will be utilised on a regular basis. You will need to be well experienced in both complicated and normal deliveries. The roles you play may vary from: setting up a maternal and child health department in a small rural clinic; to establishing a program to respond to sexual and gender based violence within a refugee population; to initiating a community maternal child health education program. You will have regular dealings with and possible trainings for traditional birth attendants. Understanding cross-cultural issues around childbirth will be crucial as part of your role - you will need to listen to the women in your community and to understand the realities of their reproductive lives. STORIES FROM THE FIELD: Sue England It’s a far cry from teaching midwives in the suburbs of Sydney to caring for patients in the dusty plains of southern Sudan but my nine months in Akeum (near the borders of the Central African Republic and Chad) were more than worthwhile. Sudan is one of the forgotten places of the world with a whole generation growing up knowing nothing but war, hunger and human rights abuses. It was a learning experience from day one. I learned how to cope with the frogs in the latrines and the odd snake appearing when I was cleaning up the dressing table. I learned to dodge the saliva which the Dinkas spit from the gap in their front teeth, completely unaware of the unseen bacteria, viruses or parasites which they might be spreading. I learned tropical medicine from the doctors and they learned obstetrics from me. But we all learned from the Dinkas. I had to learn to judge time by the moon. I would ask my patient if she had had her last period before or after the harvest moon or before the moon in the wet season. Only then could I determine whether her labour was premature. I’ve been a midwife for 15 years but I had never encountered some of the problems I faced in Akuem. Because most Sudanese women choose to birth at home, the women we saw at the centre were the ones with severe complications. I managed obstructed labours, vacuum deliveries, prematurity, breech deliveries and a lot of twin births. This mission showed me more than anything the value of trained midwives in primary health settings such as these. I hope my time there made a difference to the people of Akeum. I know it made a difference to me. ESSENTIAL CRITERIA ALSO DESIRABLE
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Commitment to the
aims and values of Médecins Sans Frontières