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When death lurks in disaster-hit areas, midwives come to save the day
Midwives played a pivotal role in saving mothers and their newborns when earthquakes and a tsunami hit Lombok and Sulawesi.
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Under the sun: Village midwife Nurul Indawati passes by a cliff on her way to a remote village in Jombang, East Java. (Antara/Syaiful Arif)
T
here were many unsung heroes when the major earthquakes and tsunami hit Lombok in August and Palu in September. Some of them were hardworking midwives who assisted mothers and victims during those dark days despite a lack of equipment.
Puskesmas Nipah, a public health center in North Lombok, was among the first health centers that opened its doors for the victims after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the island of Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Aug. 5.
And it would not have opened without Handini Puspita Arum, a midwife who works there.
Handini said after the earthquake rocked and destroyed most of the buildings in her village, the villagers climbed the mountain behind their homes that were located near the seashore because the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said there was a possibility that a tsunami could hit the area.
“We were on the mountain for three hours. I remember we only prayed and prayed. The waves were rumbling so hard that night. As I looked around me, I saw a pregnant women moaning, people had injuries, babies were crying. My husband and my child were all safe. At that time I knew I had to do something for the others,” Handini said on Thursday in front of dozens of midwives who had gathered to commemorate the International day of Midwives that fell on May 5.
That morning the Puskesmas opened on the hospital’s yard. There were no doctors or nurses for days, as most of the people were still busy ensuring the safety of themselves and their families, so it was only Handini, her husband and a new midwife at the Puskesmas at that time. From that day, they did not stop helping people, including those who were wounded and assisting in childbirth.
“We help many mothers give birth in the tent, we cut several sarongs for the birthing bed. I trusted my neighbor to take care of my child and I worked all day at the Puskesmas. We used everything we had left,” she said.
