Badakhshan, Afghanistan – Nazia lives in a remote village in Badakhshan, but she did not allow the situation to get in the way of her getting skilled birth attendance when she gave birth to her sixth child.

Badakhshan is one of the provinces in Afghanistan where access to safe childbirth services is one of the lowest in the country, with less than half of deliveries attended by midwives or other trained health professionals.

The involvement of midwives in assisting with deliveries is vital, and this is a valuable lesson that Nazia, 40, learned during one of her earlier pregnancies. However, due to poverty and the difficulty of accessing free health care from their remote village, she delivered her other children at home, assisted by untrained traditional birth attendants.

Fortunately, a Mobile Health Team (MHT) that brings maternal health services in hard-to-reach communities through UNFPA, with support from the Government of Australia, is now available in Nazia’s community, which allowed her to get free antenatal care during her sixth pregnancy. 

“I supported Nazia with antenatal since the early stages of her pregnancy," Karima Khaksar, the MHT midwife, noted. “She regularly attended consultations whenever the MHT visited her village.” 

This routine boosted Nazia’s confidence that she would have a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery. The presence of the MTH in the community has raised awareness among locals, especially women and girls, to utilize services and attend activities, such as health education sessions, provided by the MHT.

“When I received Nazia's call, I promptly gathered my midwifery kit,” Karima recalled. "I am familiar with her location, so I easily found her home. Nazia was in the midst of labour when I arrived.”

An hour later, Nazia gave birth to a healthy baby boy. With the midwife closely monitoring her, the delivery proceeded without any complications. "Mothers are always anxious during childbirth, but having the midwife's presence and support reassured me," Nazia shared.

"I cannot express enough the importance of Karima's support during those critical moments," Nazia said, expressing appreciation for the midwife's assistance. "Despite feeling fearful and anxious, I was comforted by her presence."

Before leaving the mother and newborn, Karima provided Nazia with some instructions on how to care for herself and her baby.

Providing reproductive health services and midwifery support to underserved communities is a crucial work of the MHTs. With the assistance of donors and implementing partners, UNFPA is dedicated to reaching these communities to address preventable maternal deaths in Afghanistan.