Maternal health care in Farah province has improved significantly since the establishment of a maternity ward and female nursing program at Farah Hospital, bringing mortality rates down to 1.2 per cent for babies born in the hospital. In late January, a visiting U.S. military team built upon the success in Farah, delivering a three-day Advanced Life Support for Obstetrics course to the nursing and midwife students.
LCDR (Dr.) Brad Volk and LTC Laura Saucer, a doctor and obstetrical nurse from CSTC-A who mentor Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police medical staff, taught the seminar, which covered high-risk issues for mothers and infants. Magul, the hospital’s head midwife, demonstrated techniques and contributed her own expertise gathered from 15 years of experience. The skill and compassion of the maternity staff struck LTC Saucer, who commented, “For what they have, they do an outstanding job. Their knowledge is vast, and it’s amazing to me what they can do with no technology.” The team plans to teach the seminar at the National Military Hospital in Kabul and eventually in other provinces.
The approximately 55 women who attended the seminar were part of Farah hospital’s three-year nursing course. The hospital has offered the free program for 22 years, but women have only been allowed to enter since the fall of the Taliban. Most students are 10th grade graduates, but the course will soon transition to two years and require candidates to complete 12th grade, a reflection of the improvement in education. Eleven midwives have completed the nursing program to date, and the NGO CHA has trained an additional 15 midwives in Farah. Most of the nurses and midwives work in Farah city, but some return to their home districts, expanding healthcare expertise throughout the province.
Nursing expertise built through the program is saving lives. When the hospital opened its maternity ward three years ago, Magul said only 3 or 4 women per month came to the hospital for childbirth. But word of the staff’s skills spread, and the hospital now delivers about 370 babies per month, resulting in increased survival for infants and mothers. Although the hospital does not have exact figures, Magul said her staff loses only 4 or 5 babies each month, approximately 1.2 per cent compared to the national early neonatal mortality rate of 7.02 per cent. And only about five of the nearly 4500 women giving birth at Farah hospital die each year in childbirth, much better than the national maternal morbidity rate of 1600 mothers per 100,000 as reported by the World Health Organization.
This success inspires the young women in the program, most under the age of 20. When asked why she wanted to become a nurse midwife, one hopeful-looking third year student said, “The opportunity to help other women brings me happiness and delight. And when I can save a life, it gives me courage in my own life.”
--Karen Chandler, PRT Farah