Nothing wrong with male midwives – Kapata

Community Development, Mother and Child Health Deputy Minister says male midwives work better than the females because they are available at any given time.

Ms Kapata says the input of the male midwifery and that of a female one is different.

She was reacting to reports by Mwandi MMD Member of Parliament Michael Kaingu’s call for government to do away with male midwives.

The Deputy Minister noted that female midwives go on maternity leave posing a shortage in hospital and clinics in the country while male midwives don’t go for maternity.

Ms Kapata said that Mr Kaingu was taking the country backwards by suggesting that government should do away with male midwives.

She said there was no logic in Mr Kaingu’s argument it was culturally wrong for government to allow male birth attendants, because there were male doctors world over who were attending to both genders.

“We have male doctors in this country does it mean he cannot attend to a woman patient or one who is giving birth?” she asked.

Ms Kapata said the country is currently experiencing a shortage of human resource and the government has trained so many midwives who seem to be stable and remained in the country to serve.

Yesterday, Mr Kaingu was quoted in the Post Newspapers saying government should do away with male midwives.