IIM-A to help Gujarat deliver midwives

Even as Gujarat faces a shortage of around 10,000 midwives, the state government is all set to initiate a post-graduate diploma in mid-wifery across nursing colleges in the state.

A first-of-its-kind in the country, the one year course, called as 'Post Graduate Diploma for Nurse Practitioner in Midwifery', is being co-ordinated by Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), alongwith other agencies.

The course will be initiated at nursing colleges in three cities of Gujarat namely Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Jamnagar. Recognised by the Nursing Council of India (NCI), a statutory body for the profession, the course will witness around 60 nurses being trained in midwifery per annum.

According to Dileep Mavalankar, a faculty member at IIM-A, the need for specialisation in midwifery has been prevalent in the country since long. "Historically, the concept of mid wives came up during the British rule but lateron it got diluted with nursing as a profession.

As per World Health Organisation (WHO), there is a need for seven lakh mid wives worldwide out of which India needs around two lakh and Gujarat requires 10,000 mid wives," said Mavalankar.

A candidate should hold a post graduate degree in nursing alongwith atleast five years of experience to be eligible for this course.

"The basic idea in initiating such a course is to provide training and expertise to aspirants in mid wifery and encourage specialisation in the profession. IIM-A will conduct management studies on the effectiveness of the course in the state," said Mavalankar.