Indonesia's National Midwifery Seminar: Strategies for Detecting and Treating Obstetric Emergencies at the Community Level

by Ir. Dina Sintadewi Landini

To read this blog in Bahasa, click here.

On February 19, 2012, the National Midwifery Seminar took place in Indonesia. The event was organized by Program D IV students of the Mitra Ria Husada Midwifery and Health Science School—a partner of the White Ribbon Alliance Indonesia (APPI).

The maternal mortality rate (MMR) in Indonesia is still as high as 248 per 100,000 live births and the infant mortality rate (IMR) is 34 per 1,000 live births. MMR is a barometer of maternal health services in a country, so if MMR is still high that means maternal health services are not adequate. One of the main causes of maternal death is lack of proper treatment for emergency situations during and after pregnancy and childbirth.

Midwives are the frontline health workers for delivering maternal and child health services in the community, so midwives must be competent in delivering the best quality care, including handling emergency situations before women are able to reach a hospital or clinic. Midwives should actively update their knowledge and skills.

This seminar was officially opened by the Chairperson of Mitra Ria Husada Midwifery and Health Science School, Dr. Srihartati p. Pandi, MPH. She said that judging by its participation of 1,000 individuals, it is clear that the seminar galvanized midwives and midwifery students all over the country. The purpose of the seminar was to enhance the knowledge of midwives in order to help the government reduce the maternal mortality rate.

Participants registering for the seminar

Seminar participants listening to presentations

Speakers in this seminar included Ibu Pandi, former Chairperson of APPI, as well as:

Dr. Nila Djuwita F. Moeloek, SpM, who was named a Safe Motherhood Champion by APPI. Her presentation was titled: “Professional Efforts At Achieving MDG Targets in Indonesia Through Holistic Thinking”. She said that health is related to community welfare and education. It is also very important for teenagers to have adequate nutrition prior to their marriage, since poor nutrition can be a major cause of newborn death. She also discussed how early marriages contribute to poverty and social welfare problems. All issues must be addressed from upstream.

Dr. Noroyono Wibowo, SP. OG (Chairman of POGI) presented a speech on “Preeclampsia Management”. He explained from the mechanisms of eclampsia, the incidents, short and long term effect to the mothers, effect to the babies, and prevention strategies. He said that preeclampsia and eclampsia cause subsequent pregnancy and childbirth risks. Obese patients have about a six times greater risk of preeclampsia. He also mentioned that a baby born at a normal weight could eventually show restricted growth, so it is important to use the fetal growth curve (fetal biometry).

Dr. Setyorini Irianti from Padjadjaran University in Bandung, said that maternal deaths can be prevented if bleeding after childbirth can be handled quickly. Midwives must have knowledge of postpartum care, including for patients experiencing hemorrhage or anemia. First, midwives must evaluate the cause of distress. They should monitor patients by examining protein and insulin production, and recommend interventions such as zinc or calcium and others as needed. They should also know how to properly store and deliver oxytocin for postpartum hemorrhage.