Midwifery Program

Midwifery Training Program

During 2000 the nursing program added a midwife instructor from the UK skilled in both teaching and the practice of midwifery in another Central Asian country. As in other medical disciplines the Soviet system of specialized care left many patients without adequate care through pregnancy, delivery and the post-partum period. During the first year a number of projects have begun including writing a patient instruction book now available in Russian, training of nurses in pre and post-natal care, and the beginning of a birth center for training midwives and allowing patients’ options of care.

Midwifery care of mothers and care of the newborn are increasing problems over the past ten years of independence in Central Asian countries. Outdated practices, lack of fetal monitoring and limited access to continuing education for midwives and obstetricians contribute to the decline in care and increasing mortality rates. The STLI nursing program includes maternal-child health issues for nursing instructors, and seminars for midwives and midwifery students emphasizing normal and complicated pregnancy, labor and birth.

Translation of basic information from English into Russian is important to provide nursing educators and family group practice physicians up to date information. Additionally, a small booklet has been written in Russian and distributed widely, outlining for patients, good antenatal, intra-natal and postnatal care.

January 29, 2008