MAHTAB SABRI
25 years | Tabriz, Iran

I decided to become a midwife due to a simple reason. It dates back a long time ago when I used to be a teenager. I loved babies very much and when my aunts became pregnant I enjoyed taking care of them and help feeding their newborns. And I was also very interested in medical sciences. When I learned more about the profession I thought that my character suits midwifery very well. For example, I can work under high pressure and I am capable in taking difficult decisions. My mother also influenced me in the decision to become a midwife as she delivered with the support of a midwife.
I also wanted to work in a field where I could communicate with women and children and where I could make a difference and play a meaningful role during the difficult process of childbirth.

The Tabriz University is one of the top universities and this is why they do not accept a lot of students. The University is free but before being admitted to the Medical Faculty we had to take an entry exam. In my semester we are 32 students and we are divided into groups of four or five students. Our dormitory is on the campus, but the teaching hospitals are more far away.
Our professors have doctorate degrees. They not only provide us with theoretical knowledge but also teach us how to treat our patients: we must establish a relationship, as if the pregnant woman is your sister or your mother. We take their hands, speak with them and build a deep relationship.
In Iran midwifery developed from a traditional to an academic profession. The midwifery education nowadays has three degrees: The Bachelor degree takes four years. In the first semester we learn a lot about theory and are trained in the skills lab. From the second semester onwards we also visit the hospital as observers and in the last year we work at the hospital entirely. It is in the fourth semester that we start to assist our professors in actual deliveries and the more advanced we are in our studies the more independent we work. Prior to taking the exam you need to have assisted during 60 deliveries in one of the public hospitals. We do not have special preceptors, but we follow the midwives in the hospitals and our professors come to the hospital even during our night shifts. We all rotate to make sure everyone gets the opportunity and because the hospitals are public the pregnant women cannot reject us midwifery students. We enter all deliveries into our log-book which is signed by our professors. At the very end of our studies this is followed by a practical exam at the hospital, and a written exam.

The pandemic made my studies difficult because I liked the clinical work, especially in the hospital. We were in health centers at the time but then they told us that Corona comes. They did not cancel our internship, but they reduced our practical training by a few months. During this time, we were working in the hospital following the protocol. For four months our University was completely closed and only reopened again in July 2020.
After graduation we can work as a midwife in a hospital, health center or in our own praxis and establish our own midwifery center. Or you can continue with a Master programme for two years. The possibility of a PhD was only introduced about five or six years ago I think and takes four years to complete.

In Iran most women deliver in a hospital and fathers are not allowed here. But it is possible for a father to accompany the pregnant woman when going to a private hospital or private birthing centers, and it becomes more and more common to deliver at home. In the hospital we work closely with the medical doctors. They do the Caesarean sections and also sometimes support the normal deliveries. Generally, we work as a team: sometimes we help them and sometimes they help us. We as midwifery students always accompany our professors. We are not alone. Whereas the medical students are not being accompanied and sometimes ask our professors for advice.

As midwives we provide antenatal and postnatal care; we support women during normal vaginal births and we repair perinatal tears independently. We mostly prescribe medicines related to gynecological diseases, medication against infections, STDs and family planning, and prescriptions for ultrasounds and tests. We also provide health education to girls from birth to menopause. I personally love the deliveries – it is very meaningful to me when the baby arrives and cries; every time I shed tears with them.
Time flies! When I go to a delivery home I do not feel as if I am the midwifery staff. I want to be friends with them and know more about their life and their difficulties. A lot of women do not know much about delivery. They only have few information about that, particularly in less developed areas. I want to provide them with information, so they can take an informed decision and select if they want a normal delivery or a C-section. When they are in the hospital this is when they need to choose. When I comb their hair or look into their eyes I can sometimes see their fear. I want to make sure that they can relax during the delivery process.
One day I also want to launch a center where mothers can be happy. Where they can talk about their problems and learn about exercises. And I want to offer water deliveries in Tabriz. So far, we only have that in Teheran and I want to bring that to other cities and areas of Iran.
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In the future I want to establish a birthing center where mothers are supported and receive information they need during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period.

My goal is to create a calm and low-stress environment for mothers to give birth. I want to empower them to have a healthy and safe pregnancy by providing them with information on proper nutrition and exercising for example. But I also want to be there for them in the postpartum period so they can ask questions about their baby and improve their own physical and mental health. I want to serve women of all ages, also teenage girls. And lastly, I want ensure that women and girls in under-served regions receive better services in the future and make sure that they can share their problems with me without fear of feeling embarrassed.

Interview by Leah F. Bohle, 15 April 2022

Photo by Mina Noei/Leah F. Bohle/Fairpicture