Ten years for annual midwives conference held in Mogale
Every year, the midwives of Gauteng get together to discuss various topics in their field. This year they met in Mogale City.
Midwives from health districts all over Gauteng including the West Rand recently gathered at the Mogale City Centenary Hall to celebrate 10 years of the Midwives, Obstetrics, Neonatal and Child-Health Conference (MONEC).
MONEC is an annual conference where midwives can discuss their endeavours, challenges, and accomplishments. This year it was held at the end of August and the Gauteng Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko spoke to the midwives and healthcare experts in attendance.
The theme for this year was Together again: From evidence to reality. Dr Nicholas Mwangani, Dr Gregory Abraham and Dr Mbangi Mtuse from the West Rand Health District also supported this noteworthy event.
Among the topics discussed at the event was a retrospective look at MONEC milestones, an overview of provincial and district-level neonatal and maternal performance, and an address on mental health and psychosocial support for midwives.
Nomagugu Hloma, communication officer for the West Rand District Health Department added they also discussed concerns relating to teenage pregnancy, strategies for guiding novice midwives in academic hospital labour wards, the limited obstetric ultrasound outreach programme, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and the impact of climate change and heat on a mother and infants well-being.
Sikhonjiwe Masilela, the director of Maternal, Newborn and Child, Genetics, School Health, Women’s Health, and Nutrition within the Gauteng Department of Health, established and oversaw the MONEC Conference in 2004.
“Initially, it commenced as a one-day conference in Johannesburg. Subsequently, in 2006, the event moved to Sedibeng, followed by Tshwane in 2008, Ekurhuleni in 2013, West Rand in 2014, Tshwane in 2017, Sedibeng in 2018, and Johannesburg in 2019. However, like many other programs, the conference faced disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic but was reinitiated in Sedibeng in 2022,” explained Hloma.
The conference was founded to create awareness about midwifery as a speciality and to revive the nursing and midwifery professions and ethical practices. Each year, MONEC aims to convene midwives to share and review the best practices, and to improve maternal and child health care in public institutions.
Nkomo-Ralehoko emphasised the importance of advocacy for improved health care by saying, “Don’t get tired of raising the issues because we aim to ensure that we address those issues that you are experiencing in your institutions. I respect the work that you are doing as midwives in the province and the country. Your efforts are valued and we are fully committed to supporting you until we attain our shared objectives.”
The profession of midwives is as old as time and according to the International Federation of Midwifery, it was acknowledged as a respected and paid profession from as early as 3500BC to 300BC.
South African midwives deliver about one million babies annually and are responsible for over 80% of South Africans who depend on public health institutions.
