Midwife Maryam Brings Ultrasound Care to 50,000 Afghans After 6-Month Training

1 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Aug 14

Maryam now performs obstetric ultrasound scans in an Afghan area where one female doctor and one midwife serve about 50,000 people, filling a service gap that previously left women without any female ultrasound provider.
A six-month training course enabled her to add scans to her midwifery work after women were barred from universities and her medical institute was also closed.
Families in the area often refuse examinations by male health workers, making female staff essential for pregnant patients who otherwise may go without care.
Before Maryam began scanning, women had to travel roughly three hours on poor roads to another clinic, a costly and difficult trip for largely poor families.