Socio-economic wellbeing
Aminata Bamba: midwife at the Chièpo health centre, Côte d’Ivoire
"Women come here to give birth now because it gives them a sense of security. It's a relief for everyone"
Introduction:
Aminata Bamba is a 36-year-old midwife at the health centre which caters for approximately 31,000 people in Chièpo, Côte d’Ivoire.
Anesvad Foundation:
Have all the reforms and equipment provided resulted in improvements in terms of your work at the health centre?
Aminata Bamba:
Without a doubt. We used to have good technical staff, but we lacked the necessary resources. We didn’t have delivery tables and so deliveries happened on the floor.
Now there are proper delivery tables and this also make the midwife’s job easier. There is also new equipment that allows us to provide children with respiratory support. We have oxygen to relieve obstructions and we even have an aspirator.
Anesvad Foundation:
How have these changes influenced the quality of care you are able to provide to your maternity patients?
Aminata Bamba:
We’ve noticed that more people are attending the centre now. Women come here to give birth now because it gives them a sense of security. It’s a relief for everyone. We didn’t use to have water in the delivery room and that made everything more complicated. Thanks to the Foundation, we now have a water tower and many other things besides. We’re very grateful.
Anesvad Foundation:
You have focused on raising awareness to make women feel more secure as well as to integrate traditional midwives and ensure that the health centre is perceived as a key resource. What have been the results of this?
Aminata Bamba:
Although it’s true that some traditional birth attendants still deliver babies in the home, they now know that they can also bring the women here. They often come with women who are already in labour. But it’s working very well; the increased awareness has led to a highly significant improvement.