Oneya: Why we should give midwives what they want

Privileged is not a word I would readily use to describe myself. This was the reality until I reflected on the birth of my daughter eight years ago. The only complaint about my birth experience at one of Kenya’s major private hospitals was that they did not have enough pillows or bathrobes. 

“Can you believe it?” I asked the hapless visitors who had innocently brought me fruits and flowers. If they thought I was selfish, they mercifully hid their thoughts. 

My privileged lenses did not allow me to see past the minor flaws of the hospital to focus on what was important: safe delivery. I also took for granted the midwife who supported and cared for me during labour and birth. I don’t even remember her name or face. 

I laboured for twelve hours. And as I writhed in my bed and sometimes on the floor, cursing out anyone and everyone in my vicinity, a kind-faced woman would pop her head into the labour ward and offer advice. 

“Do you want to waste your energy and breath shouting and screaming? You need that energy to push the baby out! So save it. Breathe…just breathe…”

Even in the throes of pain, I recognised genuine concern and did as she advised. At some point! She popped back in with some oxygen. And later asked if I wanted some painkillers. In retrospect, her calm presence and words saved me from running down the hospital corridor screaming: “Get this thing out of me!”

My experience with the midwife who attended to me was aptly captured by the White Ribbon Alliance report launched in May 2022 titled What Women Want: Midwives’ Voices, Midwives’ Demands. One of the key highlights is that midwives are the most undervalued yet critically needed caregivers in the health system today.

That’s not all. The midwives also want more and better-supported personnel, supplies and functional facilities, health services, professional development and leadership, respect, dignity, non-discrimination and power, autonomy and improved gender norms and policies.

As Moreen Ndanyo, one of the midwives’ voices captured in the report, stated: “To give mothers what they need, we have to understand what midwives want. Midwives need better supplies and more funding—they should be involved in budget conversations because midwives are the ones who know what is required to reduce maternal mortality. Midwives deserve respect and appreciation for their expertise.”

The report, in its second year running, captured the voices of midwives from 100 counties, up from 93 in 2020. The demands of the midwives are sobering because they are fundamental rights. Nothing frivolous or out of the ordinary. 

The recognition of my privilege as a woman lovingly cared for came with something else. It came with the recognition that the people responsible for bringing forth life still hardly get recognised or adequately compensated for their work. I was struck by the significance of their role and how little attention to their needs are given.

The insidious reality of broken systems saddles their ‘asks’, but we owe it to them to fix what’s broken. 

The midwives’ demands are ordinary, given their extraordinary role. It’s time they got what they wanted. 

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Miss Oneya comments on social and gender topics. @FaithOneya; [email protected]