A small team of midwifery staff from the James Paget has just returned from an impoverished west African country after successfully completing a mission to improve maternity safety.
The team spent 10 days in Sierra Leone earlier this month to support the work of the charity Life for African Mothers (LFAM), by training local midwives on preventing post-partum haemorrhage and practising neonatal resuscitation.
In addition, the team passed on their knowledge and experience of safe and respectful maternal care through a series of maternity skills workshops.
James Paget Head of Midwifery Nicola Lovett led the four-strong team, which was in Sierra Leone from 7-17 November.
“The conditions in which midwives live and work are so far removed from our own lived experience that it is hard to truly comprehend,” said Nicola. “Their everyday challenges seem a world apart from ours. From their commutes - often on poorly maintained roads and tracks, sometimes on a moped, through traffic so congested it frequently grinds to a standstill - to the facilities in which they provide care, the contrast is stark.”
“These realities form the backdrop against which midwives strive to deliver care, often with limited resources and under immense pressure. The facilities we visited pose challenges on every level. No running water was available in either the local community facility or the government-run referral hospital, and basic supplies such as PPE or soap were absent. Yet, despite these constraints, midwives continue to provide care with resilience, compassion, and dignity,” she added.
The team held workshops in the port city and capital Freetown before heading inland to Makeni the largest city in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone.
The workshops allowed the team to pass on their knowledge to midwives living and working across four districts in the country – and identify and appoint six ‘midwifery champions’ to continue spreading best practice to their colleagues in the future.
“Wherever we went, we were met with love, enthusiasm, and a passion for midwifery and learning that has been a joy to witness,” said Nicola. “Respect - for women, for communities, and for each other - is essential for safe and effective care, and this principle was evident in every discussion and every interaction.”
The link between James Paget midwives and their counterparts in Sierra Leone will continue through a peer-support WhatsApp group and a Pen Pals initiative, which was set up before the team travelled to Africa.
Along with Nicola, team members were Labour Ward Co-ordinator Lisa Burdett, Practice Development Midwife Lottie Wozencroft and former James Paget midwife Nicky McGovern.
All volunteered their own time to take part in the project, continuing the work of LFAM which has included a focus in delivering the life-saving drug Misoprostol to Sierra Leone, which has supported the reduction of maternal death rate in the country.
For more information on the charity’s work, please visit: https://www.lifeforafricanmothers.org/
