Midwives' conference in Vietnam: 'the role and participation of midwives in the community': the Vietnam Association of Midwives held a successful conference and workshop in 2007: association president Phan Thi Hanh reports.

• Auteur: Hanh, Phan Thi
• Tenlastelegging: Conference notes

In July 2007, the Vietnamese Association of Midwives (VAM) organised a conference with the title 'The Role and Participation of Midwives in the Community in Reproductive Health Care', which was held in TT Hue Province. VAM gartefully acknowledged the collaboration and support of UNFPA, WHO, the Ministry of Health, Pathfinder International Vietnam (PI), the Vietnam Medical Association and Vietnam OB/GYN/FP.

Pathfinder International Vietnam and the Vietnamese Association of Midwives also organised a pre-conference workshop on 'Active Management in the Third Stage of Labour'. All the expense of the workshop was funded by Pathfinder International from their Small Grant Project.

Workshop: 'Active Management in the Third Stage of Labour'

Participants in the workshop included 25 board members of VAM; 22 midwives sponsored by WHO Vietnam; 14 midwives sponsored by UNFPA Vietnam; and seven obstetricians sponsored by UNFPA Vietnam.

Invited guests were: Professor Junko Kondo, representative of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM); Dr Nguyen Dinh Loan, Director of Reproductive Health, Department of MOH; Dr Tran Huu Thang, Vice-President of Vietnam Medical Association; Dr Ian Howie, Country Representative of UNFPA, Vietnam; Mr Duong Van Dat, Program director of UNFPA; Dr Severin Von Xylander from Maternal, Newborn and Child Health of WHO Vietnam; Mrs Saara Hiltunen, Specialist in Safe Motherhood and Nursing; Professor Nguyen Duc Vi, President of the Vietnam OB/GYN/FP Association; Professor Do Trong Hieu, former Director of RH, Department of MOH, VAM consultant; Associate Professor Cao Ngoc Thanh, Deputy-Dean of HUE Medical University; Professor Le Dinh Roanh, Director of the Center for Research and Early Detection of Cancer; Dr Nguyen Vu Quoc Huy, Hue Medical University.

The workshop began with the opening speech of the VAM President, followed by speeches from Dr Nguyen Dinh Loan, Director of RH Department of MOH, Dr Severin Von Xylander from WHO, Professor Junko Kondo from ICM and Dr. Tran Duc Vi, President of the Vietnam OB/GYN/FP Association.

After the speeches, the Vice President of VAM presented the joint Global Initiative on the Prevention of Post Partum Haemorrhage (PPH) from the ICM and the International federation of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO) and the Declaration of Support for the ICM/FIGO Global Effort to prevent PPH.

Dr Cao Ngoc Thanh and Dr Nguyen Vu Quoc Huy from Hue Medical University gave a lecture on the...