Call for more midwives
ONE local nursing professional and instructor revealed that there is a shortage of midwives in Barbados.
Registered nurse, registered midwife and Nursing Instructor at the Barbados Community College (BCC), Dr. Sonia Watson-Miller, spoke to The Barbados Advocate about the situation during the break at the Women’s Health Medical Conference recently. She explained that once there is a deficit (shortage of midwifery) in the country, the education system tries to deal with that deficit. She said that currently, BCC has a midwifery course, which has been given for the last two years; and the institution is currently training midwives and community health nurses.
Dr. Watson-Miller noted that years ago, there was single-trained midwifery, but now you have to be a registered nurse. She added that when you have studied general nursing, then a person can specialise in midwifery or any other area. The registered nurse highlighted that only in the United Kingdom can a person single train in a specific area. In addition to responding to the present shortage and criteria to qualify in the midwifery field, the chairperson for the conference noted changes in midwifery care in Barbados.
In relation to how the midwife administers care, she explained that the concept of one midwife each for mother and baby has gone away. She noted that they are looking at a model of care where one midwife takes care of both mother and baby. Through this new model, midwives will be able to identify any health or mental health issues with the patients.
“When you have just a person taking care of the babies and a person taking care of the mother, there is a disconnect. The model of care of midwifery is (going) away from that,” said Dr. Watson-Miller.
The two-day conference gave the registered nurse and her colleagues an opportunity to share ideas, and have group discussions after medical presentations. Additionally, Dr. Watson-Miller said it was an opportunity to interact with medical professionals, learning about the latest medical policies – when to refer patients and do certain investigations.