USAAMA SSEWANKAMBO
22 years | Lira, Uganda

My step-mother inspired me to become a midwife. She works as a nurse-midwife and told me about the opportunity that I could enter the midwifery programme. The programme exists only since 2016; beforehand the system was only allowing females to become midwives in Uganda.
I had a lot of anxiety at the beginning because the expectations on me were high. As years passed by, I became passionate about my studies and by now I am super proud to be a male midwife. Besides, the government is sponsoring 90% of my education, which is like the icing of the cake.
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"You can't be a male midwife!..."

In Uganda males can be in the OB/Gyn department if you are a medical doctor or a scrub nurse -but being a male midwife is something new. When I tell someone that I am a male midwife, they say: “What? You can’t be a male midwife. Maybe a ‘midhusband’, or a medical doctor…!” Even in my family they call me doctor.
The Bachelor programme consists of four years studying at the University, followed by a one year internship. We are 70 students in my class, but only very few males. What I like most are the practical sessions in the skills lab and using Mama Natalie. The theory is important, but when I put the theory into practice that is how I wont forget it and it makes me feel really energetic. We also have a student association which came to life only three years ago and I will be the president next year. We are planning many activities and also want to set-up a midwifery association in the future.
Since March the University was closed because of Covid and I only returned last week, as I live in the far South and the University is in the North. We only had few online lectures but as the internet is not strong enough we could not continue online.
In Uganda I have encountered several challenges so far. What we learn is not necessarily possible to put into practice, simply because resources are limited. Sometimes oxytocin is missing or catheters are missing…and we are forced to improvise. You feel bad, but in the end the only thing you can do is to focus on the mother. In addition, being a male midwife is a new concept in Uganda and I have experienced situations where mothers or staff did not accept me as a midwife.
When looking at how things are done here – in the hospitals but also outside of it – and if you look at the statistics on how many women and newborns are dying in Uganda, I know that if I am using my knowledge and skills in the future, I can save lives and that is something which makes me really happy.
I look up to some of my lecturers and I am in love with Sheena Byrom, a midwife and real role model I am following on social media. My dream is one day to have a family I can make happy and to become a midwifery professor in the future. We need to do more research and so we can change the narrative in Uganda! 

Interview by Leah F. Bohle, 22 November 2020

Photo by Usaama Ssewanakambo