Midwifery Elective Placement to Sri Lanka

Joanna and Lucy are planning to go to Kandy in Sri Lanka in August 2016 with Work the World. We are currently in the final months as a second year student midwife at Birmingham City University. Our University has recommended Work the World as they offer a safe environment for us to stay in whilst we're out there and levels of supervision within the hospital that is satisfactory in the UK. However, going through an organisation comes at a cost. We need to raise £2500 each to cover the cost of accommodation, flights, visas, vaccinations etc. The fee also allows Work the World to make considerable donations to the hospitals to help towards development, resources and every day running costs. We are looking forward to the challenges we will face working as a midwife in a developing country. The lack of antenatal care in Sri Lanka mean that there are more complicated pregnancies and births and conditions go unnoticed until they present in labour. Resulting in a considerable amount of obstetric emergencies. Pain relief is rare and women are widely expected to labour in silence. Experiences that we come across in Sri Lanka will allow us to develop and consolidate our midwifery skills in the weeks before we become qualified midwives. This will increase our skills and awareness as we deal with the demands of a busy maternity unit with a lack of resources. Most importantly we will be able to impact women's pregnancy and birth experiences in Sri Lanka. We look forward to supporting women to breastfeed and sharing our knowledge and advice to reduce mortality and morbidity among Sri Lanka's childbearing women. Any donations will be greatly appreciated! PS you dont have to use PayPal to leave a donation just click donate as guest to pay by card and avoid unneccesary fees.