UNFPA in Kosovo has continued to contribute towards making motherhood safer through building capacities of health care providers on effective perinatal care (EPC).
The EPC trainig is based on the training package which is designed for midwives, obstetricians/gynaecologists, neonatologists and paediatric nurses, developed by WHO Regional Office for Europe in the framework of the Making Pregnancy Safer (MPS) strategic approach. The objective is to improve the quality and outcome of care for mothers and their babies, by updating and upgrading the professional and managerial knowledge, skills and practice of health care providers at all levels.
EPC includes tools that allow the health care providers to question and sometimes discard routine practices that have previously been considered to be appropriate or essential.
During October, 26 participants successfully completed the EPC course in Gjilan, including three obstetricians-gynecologists, four neonatologists/pediatricians, one anesthesiologist, fourteen midwives and four nurses. As the findings from the Prizren Hospital revealed notable improvements which may be attributed to the fact that over 90% of the staff have been trained on EPC, it is expected that trained health professionals in Gjilan regional hospital through implementation of knowledge and skills gained during EPC training, will contribute towards improvement of health services for mothers and their new-borns.
