Women’s health: Gizri Maternity Hospital staff train to improve skills

Counselling, family planning and miscarriage management techniques imparted

Doctors and nurses of the Gizri Maternity Hospital have taken part in the first of a series of workshops as part of a Maternal and Child Health Project, said a note released to the press by trainer Dr Shahida Zaidi.

The first workshop was held from November 27 to 29. It was conducted by the Association of Mothers and Newborns in collaboration with Rotary Club of Karachi Cosmopolitan (District 3271) and Ludwigshafen-Rheinschanze, Germany (District 1860) under Rotarian Action Group for Population Development.

Six workshops will be held to train doctors, nurses and pupil midwives in counselling and providing an effective and appropriate family planning method to women delivering or undergoing management of incomplete miscarriage in the hospital. They will also improve knowledge and skills so the staff can provide quality emergency care to women during pregnancy and labour, and to newborn babies.



This workshop attracted a total of 17 participants: eight doctors (including the medical superintendent of the hospital), eight nurses, including the principal of the Community Midwifery School, and the technical officer from the Family Planning Clinic located within the hospital.

The first day focused on family planning, the second on two important causes of maternal deaths: postpartum haemorrhage or bleeding and infection. The third day was taken up by the principles of adult learning and the preparation of sessions by participants on seven different topics, and their presentation by the participants and critique by the facilitators.

The remaining workshops will continue in the same vein, covering the subjects of family planning counseling and method provision, and of emergency obstetric and newborn care, each time utilizing some of the already trained doctors and nurses to train others, including the pupil midwives in the Community Midwifery School.

Counselling of women in healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy will take place in the outpatient department, in the antenatal clinics, in the labour room and in the emergency rooms when they present for management of an incomplete miscarriage.

The method provided to the women will be documented, and analysed to assess the impact of the project. It is expected that an effective method of each woman’s choice will be provided before discharge from hospital to 30% of those delivering or managed for incomplete miscarriage.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2014.