Safe Birth for North Sinai Ladies

In Egypt, the percentage of caesarean section births increased from 52% to 72% between 2014 and 2021 according to the statistics of the Egyptian Family Health Survey 2021. The same statistics indicate that the percentage of pregnant women who have received regular prenatal care (4 or more visits) from a skilled provider increased from 83% in 2014 to 90% in 2021. This reflects the importance of having trained medical staff to provide perinatal services in primary health care units, where citizens in remote places and border governorates such as North Sinai usually go for medical services.

In August 2022, UNICEF and the Ministry of Health and Population celebrated the graduation of the first batch of 22 nurses who were trained on natural childbirth skills to become the first licensed midwives in North Sinai Governorate.

UNICEF is supporting the Ministry of Health and Population to provide primary healthcare services in in four districts in North Sinai (Al-Arish, Bir Al-Abed, Al-Hasna and Nekhel) by training more than 350 primary healthcare providers, providing medical equipment and developing 20 school clinics.

Creating explanatory mockups by trainee nurses to use in perinatal visits to raise women's health awareness was among the training requirements.

UNICEF, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Population and the Egyptian Red Crescent, has implemented more than 20 health campaigns in North Sinai targeting 56,000 people between 2021 and 2022. In addition to health services and maternal health education, 13 family clubs have been developed in primary healthcare units to provide psychosocial services to children and their families from North Sinai.

Basma, top of her class, happily carries the natural birth bag gift that UNICEF presented to all the graduates.

This bag contains the most important tools nurses need to do their job in perinatal care at healthcare units or home visits, such as personal protective equipment, newborn height and weight measurement tools, blood pressure monitors and glucose meters.

Rehana, one of the trainees, not only gave birth to all of her children naturally (including the youngest Rahim in picture), but she also breastfed them for six months according to global recommendations. "Thanks to the training I received, Rahim was the first child I breastfed without suffering with a cracked nipple," she says, “we also learned how to teach mothers on latching and comfortable breastfeeding position.”