Midwife: A vital climate solution. That was the theme for the 2024 International Day of the Midwife where midwives globally celebrated this important day. Midwives from the Port Moresby General Hospital, health centers and the midwifery schools flooded the car park of the Obstetrics & Gynecology carpark with their sea of purple uniforms, for the celebrations.

The International Day of the Midwife falls annually on the 5th of May and this year, Port Moresby-based midwives shared their experiences and the challenges they faced in providing the best care they could for mothers and newborn babies. 

“It is not easy being a midwife especially in a country like PNG where there are limited resources and most times we are forced to improvise because there is a mother in labour depending on us,” James Tendop, a male midwifery student, shared.

Deployed as a nurse at the Migende Rural Hospital in Chimbu Province, Mr. Tendop decided to be a midwife after witnessing the high number of women coming into the hospital to deliver their babies, because there were no rural health centers near the villages to provide this service.

“There are midwives at the Migende Hospital but the journey from the communities is treacherous with no proper road network. There is a great need to monitor mothers who were on the way to deliver at the hospital, and that is when I decided that I wanted to be a male midwife, to try and fill this gap.”

Mr. Tendop is now a final year midwifery student at the University of Papua New Guinea.

In speaking about the theme, the President of the Midwifery Society PNG, Sr. Mary Sitaing, stressed on the importance of promoting sustainable practices, advocating for women and girls rights, adapting to climate change, emergency preparedness and response and educating communities. 

“One may ask how  a midwife is a vital climate solution. . We see the impacts of climate change in our line of work everyday. We see mothers coming into health facilities after overcoming a landslide or floods, some come in with dehydration because it is the dry season in their villages and access to water has been impacted. These are the impacts of climate change on our role as a midwife.”

“Midwives are important during crises because we have to ensure a safe delivery no matter what the circumstance.”

According to Sr. Mary, midwives must adapt with the changing environment, which means noticing the change in the health of mothers, especially when there is an increase in incidents of certain diseases.

“Midwives must adapt and always be one step ahead in order to give the best healthcare we can to our pregnant mothers and newborn babies. We are key healthcare providers.”

The celebration officially ended with a cake-cutting ceremony.