USAID and the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Department of the Jordanian Ministry of Health had to find solutions to this problem that is affecting the total contraceptive prevalence rate. For the past three years, USAID has been working with MCH to allow midwives to insert IUDs. The Minister of Health gave approval for conducting a pilot study to assess the feasibility of this measure before changing the law.
As a first step, a training program was conducted for midwives to provide them with theoretical and practical training on IUD insertion. The selection process for the pilot focused on clinics which lacked female physicians and were only serviced by midwives. After the training, the midwives returned to their clinics to perform at least 20 IUD insertions under further supervision from a trained reproductive health provider before they were certified to perform the procedure on their own.
Jordanian midwives believe that the Jordanian Government’s decision to allow them to insert IUDs is a sensible one since midwives are allowed to deliver babies, which is more complex and risky than inserting IUDs.
Given the success of the pilot project, the Ministry of Health will continue midwife training to provide this service to Jordanian women, thus addressing the access problem to female providers.
Basma, one of twenty-eight Jordanian midwives who participated in the training, is now able to provide IUD services. Being a woman and coming from the same background has been a pivotal aspect in her successful approach. “I don’t provide this service unless I have fully advised my client and made sure that she has selected this method from the wide-range of available contraceptive methods based on careful counseling,” says Basma.
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