Midwife Crisis In Ghana

In 2006 a field study report was done to assess the crisis of Midwives in Ghana. As healthcare providers, midwives in Ghana are trying to increase availability to reduce the burden on health clinics. However many of the midwives are elderly with inadequate pay, which makes very few incentives to practice in the rural areas of Ghana. The shortage of Midwives threatens the safety to many expecting mothers and infants in cities and villages away from clinics and other medical resources. Without any help from the government, Ghana's population of midwives is at risk.

When the research was done about 3,379 midwives and 2,000 physicians were practicing throughout Ghana. The midwives are so important to the Ghanaian population because they provide most of the prenatal, delivery, and neonatal care. Midwives are the preferred use of care because they charge about 50,000 cedis per delivery where as the clinics charge around 80,000 cedis. Midwives are also highly preferred because they are more aware of the traditional practices to that family. Some expecting mothers do not have access to a clinic due to location and cost restrictions. 

Awareness needs to be made about the shortage of midwifes and the inadequate salary they receive. By first increasing the training for midwives and increasing the number of midwives, the maternal mortality rate can decrease significantly. As I continue my research in learning about maternal and neonatal care I find it interesting that many mothers do not know about clinics that could help them. They are only aware of the midwife in their city and the herbal medicine used for healing. As I enter the field I hope to understand the knowledge that the midwives possess and the effectiveness of their herbal medicine and spiritual healing compared to the "westernized" medicine in the nearby clinics and hospitals.

The full study can be found here.