Smartphone app aids midwives in Kyrgyzstan

27 February 2020

Dilara Safarova knows she can rely on the Safe Delivery application when faced with a complicated delivery. “The app provides evidence-based content, in line with WHO recommendations, on a range of topics, including active management of labour, postpartum haemorrhage and emergency first aid for newborns,” she explains.

The pocket-sized digital reference tool, launched in Kyrgyzstan in May 2019, provides Dilara and qualified midwives like her with guidance to deal with various situations in their practice, improving health outcomes. It is free of charge and can be accessed without an internet connection, making it especially useful for those working in remote areas. The app is available in multiple languages, including Kyrgyz and Russian, and tailored to local cultural and working environments, greatly facilitating adoption.

The Safe Delivery App was developed by the Maternity Foundation in Denmark, in partnership with the University of Copenhagen and the University of Southern Denmark, and adapted to the Kyrgyz context in close collaboration with the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health, the Kyrgyz Association of Midwives, and the German federal enterprise for international cooperation (GIZ). It is in use in more than 40 countries.

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21-year-old midwife Dilara works at the National Center for Maternal and Child Welfare in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

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“I was inspired to pursue a career in midwifery after assisting in a birth. One of the aspects I enjoy most about being a midwife is that my work is very diverse and requires using a range of skills to face the different situations that occur daily. Just recently, for example, a mother gave birth to triplets!”

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“The Safe Delivery App is really helpful when I’m faced with a difficult situation in my work,” says Dilara.

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“It offers essential resources to manage complications during pregnancy and childbirth and to provide care to newborns and mothers for one month after birth,” she explains.

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“The app is divided into 11 clinical modules on various topics, including active management of the third stage of labour, postpartum haemorrhage, hypertension, maternal sepsis, emergency first aid for newborns, and infection prevention. Each module includes videos, action cards, drug lists and quizzes to test one’s knowledge.”

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“One instance in which the app was particularly useful was when one of the mothers I was assisting began bleeding after giving birth,” Dilara recalls.

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“The detailed information in the app helped me overcome the situation and ensure the mother’s well-being”.

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