HAIFA
32 years | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
I dream about travelling the world and going on humanitarian missions. I want to make a tiny difference in the world. Women are dying from pregnancies, from malpractice during abortions. I have everything I need: I have a husband; I have kids; I have financial stability - now it is time for me to give back.
You are so vulnerable being a pregnant woman and when delivering. I have been pregnant, I delivered on my own, I suffered post-partum depression. You feel vulnerable and I believe it is a basic right to be supported.
I am very fortunate; my husband is very supportive. I have degrees in Biology, IT and Nursing and worked as a nurse in the clinic until I got promoted to be the Head of the Education and Training Department for the Nursing Programme at the Ministry of Health at the age of 28 years. But I am eager to learn, and I was offered to gain further education. I am still receiving my full salary while studying midwifery at the University for free. I come from a family working in financing and banking. Having an administrative position is not something I necessarily like but it is in my genes. But I love being with people and the day-to-day encounters - my passion is being side-by-side to the women and not doing an office job.
In the past, I was working on a midwifery education improvement program. But so far midwifery is under the umbrella of nursing in Saudi Arabia and there has been no regulations for midwives. Midwives were treated like being a nurse; and the job description was very vague. Midwifery is also not well recognized - the job involves a lot of blood. There were no rights for midwives. In the past, most went into the nursing profession; you can develop fast and be quickly promoted. They choose the fastest way. But this year the Saudi Midwifery Association and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), together with the Ministry of Health collaborated to develop a guideline and national job description for midwifery practice.
If you hold a diploma in midwifery you conduct a six months internship; thereafter you have a clinical and written exam to receive your license. Every three years you need to have attended 40 hours of continuous education to renew your license. In addition, you are evaluated at your work place – that is the case for all staff working at the hospital.
In the past we only had the diploma certificate for midwives; only since this year one University in our country is offering a Bachelor program in midwifery. Our Master program exists since approximately 12 years and it consists of five semesters. You can choose to either take a comprehensive exam after four semesters and finish your studies or write a Master thesis instead. We are only three midwifery students in my semester. So far midwifery is not an appealing job in our country.
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“Remember, women are octopus!”
I am now in my last year of the MA program. The 4th semester was conducted online due to the pandemic. But for me it was worthless - midwifery cannot be taught online. My clinical practice was shut down in the middle and they transferred it to simulation. But practice makes perfection. Online learning is not suitable for everything.
During my studies we used the active learning method: We were given three to four topics each week and we had to find all information we could and prepare all the lectures for our fellow students. We have an electronic library and can access all books and journals online. After searching for all information, we then presented it to our professor and received feedback. After finalization we presented the content to our peers. Our professor in midwifery, who has a PhD, never did any classroom teaching. The method is really powerful! I will never forget the maternal-fetal blood circulation! It took me two weeks to figure it out. As in Grey’s Anatomy I was drawing it together with my kids while at home. But now I understood it and I will never forget it again! We also used a simulation app where we get a case and practice the situation in the skills lab; the only one in the entire country and it is really good.
The degree does not matter; but the practice is what matters. I was always an honour’s student. In a BA program you study, memorize it, take an exam and you have your degree. But in the MA program I had to learn how to actually translate the knowledge into practice. I learned the hard way. I struggled the first semester but now I have become a really good student. Our professor worked a lot with scenarios based on her experiences. And we also practiced them in the skills lab. We have clinical electives in our second, third and fourth semester: we first focus on antenatal care, followed by postnatal care and then the delivery; and our professor accompanies us in the electives.
In Saudi Arabia we have different types of hospitals: In the military hospital midwifery is run by midwives from South Africa and the UK and they are so strong! At the time when I was working in the hospital I have been at departments where midwives were informally leading the doctors. The young doctors were struggling with some cases and the midwives were so experienced and accurate in their work. Midwifery is changing now, also thanks to the collaboration of the International Confederation of Midwives with the Ministry and our small midwifery association. We are still a rising country and the doors are open to us. We have only 1700 registered Saudi midwives – way too few! And only a fraction of the many expat midwives working here.
Women in our country have gained so many rights over the past four years. All came at once. It was so empowering. I lived the transition and we now have the feeling nothing is impossible. It makes us women excited for the future of our daughters.
I am dreaming of “retiring” from paid work when I am 40 years old. I will work clinically until then and do my part. I have so many dreams and always work on many projects at the same time. I am like an octopus. But when being retired I want to focus on voluntary work and my passions. I want to make a difference. I want to contribute to policies related to human rights, particularly women’s rights around the world. This is my biggest dream, even if I can only achieve a little. I also want to travel the world and help those women who need it most. And who knows, maybe one day I will become the Minister of Health or Minister of Planning in my country! Inshallah!
Interview by Leah F. Bohle, 12 November 2020
Photo by Unsplash