Midwifery education in Ghana: Time for further advancement

Abstract

Maternal mortality continues to remain high in Ghana. Similarly, gynaecological cancers contribute immensely to the leading causes of deaths among Ghanaian women of reproductive age. Midwives play an important role in the provision of direct care to these categories of patients. Nonetheless, the training of midwives, a critical workforce in Ghana over the past years, does not seem to commensurate with the roles they are required to perform, especially, at the referral hospitals. The purpose of this article is to discuss the discrepancy between competencies acquired by midwives through their education and the roles they are expected to perform at referral hospitals, and to make a recommendation for policy change. It is strongly recommended that a new cadre of midwives (nurse-midwives) with an undergraduate (bachelor’s degree) training in general nursing plus post-qualification clinical experience in medical-surgical care plus post graduate education in midwifery be trained to provide the level of advanced care required in the referral facilities.

Keywords

• Midwifery training
• Poor resource setting
• Gynaecological cancers
• Maternal mortality
• Nurse-midwife