Midwifery student Charlotte tells us more about her experiences in India with the Hernandez Foundation, which aims to make childbirth a safer experience for mothers in India.
"Myself and ten other second and third-year midwifery students participated in the 2022 India Midwifery Elective Placement with The Fernandez Foundation.
In India, there is little awareness of midwives as qualified health professionals and the term ‘midwife’ is still used interchangeably with traditional birth attendants (dais), Auxiliary Nurse-Midwives (ANMs) or Registered Nurses and Registered Midwives (RNRMs).
The Fernandez Foundation started in 1948 as a two-bed maternity clinic, and now has six locations with a total of 320 beds. There were 11 BCU Midwifery students who travelled to Hyderabad, India, to observe maternity services in Fernandez Hospitals as well as in public hospitals in India.
During our experience, we spent two days with the Fernandez Midwifery students, teaching them obstetric emergencies with mannequins and props, and answering questions on midwifery in the UK.
We visited seven hospitals where we were able to observe care for women and babies across all midwifery wards. Although some practice was different from what we are used to seeing in the UK, we were able to see the positive impact The Fernandez Foundation was having across all hospitals as its students were placed in public hospitals too, implementing woman-centred care for all women.
We praised the exercises in pregnancy, the support of upright birthing positions and perineal massage, which was taught to women after their antenatal classes. This is something we could implement within our antenatal services in the UK.
In our free time, we explored the local markets, travelled by tuk-tuks and had fun group days out, including bowling, go-karting, a boat trip along the Hussain Sagar Lake, trips to the local shopping mall and the local theme park. This was as well as spending time after our placement and on weekends in the pool at the hotel!
We all had an amazing stay of between two and four weeks, where we experienced midwifery in India which will stay with us for life and made some lifelong memories and friends.
The philosophy of The Fernandez Foundation, which we have all seen demonstrated in India and hope to carry with us for our UK practice, was: “We believe that mothers are not patients, and childbirth shouldn’t be a painful event but a joyous journey. The experience must shift from doctor-centric to mother-led, where the woman can listen to and guide her body through the birthing process. With the right preparation, the support of a skilled Midwife and the presence of a birthing companion, most low-risk, healthy women can give birth naturally."
