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Their union denounces an increase in violence in the exercise of their function. Midwives demand more security and threaten to desert maternities. In Dakar, the authorized march took place calmly.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Charlotte Idrac
“Dafa doy”. Enough is enough in Wolof. Above her pink blouse, Penda Sow, a midwife for more than fifteen years, tied a red cloth to express her anger. She has already been insulted in the maternity ward. “ Women arrive with their stress. The problem is that some caregivers come to say that the midwives are rude. Because it is the reputation of midwives in Senegal. This is why they easily attack you verbally. »
Bigué Ba Mbodj is president of the Association of Midwives of Senegal. She points out that her members work in sometimes remote areas, often at night, and recalls recent cases of physical attacks. ” After Aïda assaulted in Kolda, Rokhaya who was beaten and assaulted in Sedhiou with a slasher, another was the victim of an attempted rape. Security is all we need. »
For Maïmouna Sambe Cissokho, it is necessary to renew a sometimes difficult dialogue with patients and their families: “ We are in the delivery rooms. It must be a relationship between midwives and birth attendants. We are talking regarding the humanization of care. It really takes a lot of communication for the care to take place in the best conditions. »
The opportunity also for midwives to claim more consideration for their profession.