Birth attendants get training

Experts teach visual data collection and video interaction

ISLAMABAD:

Skilled Birth Attendants (SBAs) are the frontline workers in a telehealth system catering to maternal health and childcare needs.

Dealing with patients on a one-to-one basis to provide medical care of a very sensitive nature these attendants are the backbone of sexual and reproductive healthcare system, a statement said on Sunday.

Interactive lectures supported by visual aids and video demonstrations were given to the participants on topics which included effective ways for visual data collection and video interaction; pre-natal care with special considerations for Covid-19 in pregnancy and when to refer; routine care in labour, delivery and post-partum care as per guidelines provided by WHO; significance of good mental health; effective postpartum stress management; adolescent health; and SRH self-care interventions.

Realising the need for the necessary capacity building and skill development in Sexual, Reproductive and Maternal Health (SRMH) domain, the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) in collaboration with World Health Organisation (WHO), Pakistan, held the second round of virtual training on SRH tailored for SBAs. The first phase of the training had benefited doctors from various telehealth clinics across Pakistan.

The present phase of the training was held in two batches of five days each, wherein 26 SBAs, including Lady Health Visitors (LHVs) and Community Midwives (CMWs) from telehealth clinics of Punjab, Sindh, and K-P and Balochistan learned new concepts and techniques in SRMH along with a recap refresher of the older ones still in use.

Experts and consultants from Health Services Academy Islamabad, Dow Medical College and Civil Hospital in Karachi, and COMSATS Telehealth Islamabad, also conducted the various sessions of the training.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2020.