The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

MIDWIVES and other childbirth professionals will convene in Grand Bahama this weekend for this year’s Midwives Conference.

The conference, which coincides with International Day of the Midwife, is being hosted by the Midwives Day Committee of Grand Bahama Health Services in collaboration with the Nurses Association of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

It is set for Saturday, May 5, at the Pelican Bay Resort, and begins at 8.30am.

This year’s theme is ‘Midwives leading the way with quality care,” and highlights the vital role that midwives play in ensuring that women and their newborns navigate pregnancy and childbirth safely, and receive well-resourced maternity care.

According to a committee spokesperson, Aliv has agreed to partner with them as the telecommunication sponsor for the event.

Mrs Allison Levarity, director of Customer Care at Aliv, said the company has committed to the advancement of technology across several initiatives. She said quality healthcare solutions are just one of the seven pillars on which ALIV’s community outreach is built.

“We believe meaningful experiences in the everyday lives of midwives can be created through technology making certain aspects of their jobs even more seamless,” Mrs Levarity said.

A committee spokesperson reported that over 340,000 women and over 3 million infants around the world die each year from preventable complications from pregnancy and childbirth.

“The majority of those deaths would have been prevented if there were enough qualified and adequate midwives around the world,” she said.

Midwives are skilled in providing up to 87% of childbirth-related services, making them the ideal health professionals to support women through the maternity continuum of care.

The objectives of the conference are educating persons about the role midwives play in reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality; celebrating the achievements of midwives and their contribution to improving sexual, reproductive, maternal and newborn health outcomes; and motivating policymakers to implement change by lobbying for adequate midwifery resources and recognition of the unique professional role of midwives.

The keynote speaker at the conference will be Mrs Maggie Turner, Assistant Professor at the University of the Bahamas. Other speakers are Ms Patsy Newbold, chairperson of the Nursing Council of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas; Dr Saida Bowe, senior registrar of the Obstetric team Rand Memorial Hospital; Dr Caryn Albury, consultant of Obstetric team at RMH; Ms Karol Mackey, Assistant Professor at the University of the Bahamas; Dr Mary DeLashmutt, retired Professor and Doula; and Ms Shirley Curtis, coordinator for the Midwifery Program at UB.