A beautiful tribute to our glorious midwives
Public health midwife, Ms Nadjia KADDOURI AMARA contributes to the various national reproductive health and family planning programs developed by the Ministry of Health.
With 34 years of experience and a rich professional career, which has taken her from Tlemcen, to Constantine, Boufarik, and Algiers.
From maternity wards to the polyclinic / maternal and child protection center to the field survey as investigator in MICS6, she ensures prenatal and postnatal consultations, deliveries with repair of episiotomies to preserve the couple's sexual life.
In family planning consultation, she provides counseling and sexual education and performs cervical smears as per the national cervix cancer-screening program and field
The health crisis triggered by Covid-19 pandemic, however, did not prevent Nadjia KADDOURI AMARA from pursuing her noble mission. Midwife, endowed with professionalism, commitment and dedication to protect the health of mother and child, despite encountered difficulties and challenges.
On the International Day of the Midwife, UNFPA-Algeria celebrates the Algerian midwife, an essential pillar in the implementation of reproductive health services, the reduction of maternal mortality and improvement of women's health, and essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In her interview with UNFPA Algeria, her answers are the following:
The situation is unprecedented for the whole world, the first reaction I had was fear for my loved ones, and me but also for my patients.
Learn and protect yourself. It was also necessary to know the vulnerability of the pregnant woman facing this pandemic and to know if there was a feto-maternal transmission.
To face this pandemic, it’s necessary to adopt preventive behaviors and to strictly comply with all the measures to fight Covid-19, as recommended by the Minister of Health, in order to avoid being contaminated or spreading Covid-19:
So far, pregnant women do not appear to be at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 disease than the rest of the population. However, due to physiological changes during pregnancy, pregnant women are more at risk of developing complications from a respiratory infection.
The more symptoms and complications are severe, such as pneumonia; the more likely the consequences will be greater for both the pregnant woman and the unborn child.
The currently available data on COVID ‑ 19 are insufficient to demonstrate whether there is an increased risk to pregnant women and the unborn child. In view of the information available, we have adapted our way of working as follows:
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Limiting activities, giving priority to essential consultations, and postponing non-urgent activity.
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Ensuring compliance with protection measures and social distancing.
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Explaining to patients the importance of hygiene and social distancing measures and the need to respect confinement.
- If a patient has moderate symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, the best action is to refer her to the doctor in charge of suspected Covid-19 cases and to stay in touch with her by phone.
In order to ensure patient safety, new arrangements were made for managing consultations:
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Limitation of consultations to twice a week and by appointment
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Dispensing oral contraceptives for a period of three (03) to six (06) months, to the spouse who presents the tracking card in order to avoid unnecessary trips
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Wearing of a continuous mask is compulsory.
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Avoid grouping patients by spacing out appointments and consultations.
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Disinfection of the consultation room and equipment after each consultation
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Limitation of patients' movements by providing them with a personal phone number used in case of an urgent question and for appointments, which will allow the patient to be accompanied but above all for psychosocial support.
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Also, the patient history should look for the notion of staying abroad in a country where the epidemic exists, the notion of fever or respiratory discomfort and contact with a confirmed case.
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It is imperative to keep in touch with patients, whatever the difficulties and challenges.
My role is to inform advice and guide them. This includes listening and giving messages in an accessible and understandable language, adequate and adapted to each woman and each couple.
