Speaking in Maputo, on the occasion of International Midwives' Day, Nhacutume said the great challenge facing midwives was to restore the value that society should give to this profession.
She noted that across the globe more than 50 per cent of pregnant women do not have access to professional midwives.
Mozambique is no exception, with a health network that does not cover the entire country, and where trained human resources are spread thinly.
As a result, she said, women, particularly in the countryside, give birth at home, resorting to "traditional practices", and lack post-natal care.
"There must be more midwives everywhere, to avoid the deaths of women and infants", said Nhacutume. "Our challenge is to bring healthy lives into the world".
Acacia Lourenco, a nurse in the Mother-and-Child health service told the ceremony that the care given to pregnant women must be "humanised", for health professionals are not dealing with a disease, but with one person generating another.
"Humanization begins by understanding not only the physiology of the woman giving birth, but also her emotions", said Lourenco. "We have to look after a person who is pregnant, and not just a pregnancy. Only if we have this approach can the work be done well".
Lourenco believed that Mozambican midwives want to provide a humanised service to pregnant women, but are hindered by lack of space, of materials, and of knowledge of best practices.
Providing a better service "depends on the will of the government", she stressed.
SOURCE: AIM
