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The importance of a midwife

For Australian women, it is almost unimaginable to give birth alone, with no hospital, no medical clinic or even no midwife.

It would be both frightening and dangerous. Yet in Ethiopia today an estimated 85% of women give birth without any medical help. As a result, every day in Ethiopia, ten women develop an obstetric fistula and in almost all cases their babies are stillborn.

It is Dr Catherine Hamlin’s dream to eradicate this debilitating and humiliating condition forever. It is a dream we all share.

Prevention is the key. By training midwives and sending them into rural communities where there has been no medical care, we can identify problems in childbirth early and give a greater chance for both mother and baby to thrive.

It is a plan that is already working. In the last three years, Hamlin midwives have delivered more than 40,000 babies. By Christmas, Hamlin will have 40 midwifery clinics in operation across Ethiopia.

With each new graduate, each new clinic – the dream of eliminating this condition forever, grows nearer.

For $100 you could fund specialised training on emergency obstetrics for one Hamlin midwife.

Please consider making a donation this Christmas. Gifts over $2 are tax-deductible.

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