Sister Emebet is a Senior Midwife Mentor based in southern Ethiopia. Her story begins in a remote rural village, where she grew up listening to her mother, a traditional birth attendant, share stories of birth complications and the tragic loss of mothers and babies. These stories left a lasting impression and inspired Emebet to pursue a career in healthcare.
Becoming a midwife
After finishing high school, she was accepted into the Hamlin College of Midwives, where she spent four years earning her Bachelor of Science in Midwifery. The course is rigorous and meets the high standards of the International Confederation of Midwives. Every student must attend at least 40 deliveries before graduating. Thanks to the support of generous donors, every place at the college is fully funded.
Emebet’s first posting was to a Hamlin-supported health centre. “At first, there were very few institutional births. Around four women per month came to give birth,” she recalls. “I saw that increase to 120 per month once women gained confidence in the services provided.”
To reach the most isolated women, Emebet and her team walk up to 25 kilometres to deliver care in remote communities.
For the past ten years, Emebet has served as a Senior Midwife Mentor, supporting Hamlin-trained midwives across her region. They can call her at any time with questions about the women in their care. When she visits health centres, she brings a portable ultrasound machine to help midwives identify complex pregnancies early so that care can be planned safely.
Prevention
Emebet also holds community health forums once a month for pregnant women in the area around the Hamlin-supported health centres. At these forums, she will cover certain topics like the signs of labour and telling women to come to the health centre when they start to experience these signs. There’s also a Q&A session which helps make sure the women understand the dangers of complications in pregnancy and the warning signs to look out for.
“The most rewarding part of my job is helping to reach so many women with antenatal care” - Sister Emebet
The results speak for themselves. In the Hamlin-supported areas Emebet serves, there have been no new cases of obstetric fistula. Stillbirths have significantly reduced. This is the impact of Hamlin’s prevention model in action.
But the need is still great. In Emebet’s region alone, there are 114 government health centres. Just 12 have a Hamlin-trained midwife.
Midwives like Sister Emebet are changing lives every day. With your help, we can train more midwives and bring safe, compassionate care to more women. Together, we can end fistula. Forever.
Image credits: Maheder Haileselassie
