News
The Fiji Midwifery Society celebrated International Midwifery Day in a unique way – each health division developed its own event. This allowed the celebrations to take place in three locations at the same time – Central, Northern and Western. Labasa Hospital hosted the occasion in the Northern Division while Lautoka was host for the Western Division. The Central Division celebration was held at Makoi Maternity Unit in Suva.
The theme for the day celebration was “Midwives Leading the Way with Quality Care”, taken from that of the 2018 International Council of Midwives. Our very own Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer (CNMO), Mrs Selina Waqa Ledua was the Guest of Honour for the day. In her address, she reminded midwives on the concept of Quality Midwifery Care from the clients’ and customers’ perspectives. Quality midwifery care translates to a smiling midwife with compassionate and care when delivering her duties. Student midwives also participated at the occasion and spoke on theme of midwifery-led model. This model will be applied at the new Makoi maternity unit – to showcase innovations in midwifery-led care.
This midwifery event also promoted NCD messages of eating healthy foods, so instead of having a celebration cake, a huge fruit platter was shared. The Hospital Chaplain Rev. Jone Marika conducted the devotion and highlighted the importance of midwives and their biblical roles.
To honour the event, other groups were invited including families of midwives, NGO’s representatives and retired midwives. The day’s program included a walk through the new Makoi Maternity Unit. This unit will start birthing services by end of June. The CNMO had open talks with midwives to ensure that Makoi Maternity Unit provides quality midwifery care. Matron Aliote Galuvakadua is the current President of the Fiji Midwifery Society.