Rwandan Midwifery Antenatal Care
Week 3 Heading link
Angelique Muhammad, DNP Student
This week one of our guest speakers was a midwife. I learned about the process of a Rwandan expectant mother’s prenatal care, known as antenatal care.
In Rwanda, focused antenatal care (ANC) is done at the health center level of the community. Pregnant mothers currently receive four antenatal visits called contacts, and there are plans to increase these to eight ANC contacts. This contrasts with American prenatal care, where pregnant women can have 10-15 antenatal visits. In Rwanda, the first antenatal visit occurs during weeks 8-13. This is when the pregnancy is confirmed, and a birth plan is developed as well as a physical and lab examination. The husband must come to this first antenatal visit. The second visit occurs during weeks 24-26.
The goal of this visit is an assessment of maternal and fetal well-being. During the 32nd and 36-38 weeks, the Rwandan mother is seen for her third and fourth contact. Both visits are a continuation of the assessment for maternal and fetal well-being. According to Rwanda’s Safe Motherhood project, the major causes of maternal death are hemorrhage, eclampsia, sepsis, and abortion. As an aspiring nurse midwife, it was inspirational to learn first-hand from a Rwandan Midwife surrounding midwifery care for Rwandan mothers.
Angelique Muhammad, MSN, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) is a second-year Doctor of Nursing Practice Midwifery student. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing from Saint Xavier University with an emphasis in clinical nurse leadership. Angelique traveled to Kigali, Rwanda in July 2022 for the Global Maternal-Child Health study abroad program. Angelique continues to work as a Childbirth Educator, UIC College of Nursing Maternal Child Clinical Nursing Instructor and serves on many committees such as the “Taskforce on Infant and Maternal Mortality Among African Americans.”