Midwives have called on the health authorities to allow them to do their job, which includes assisting mothers before, during and after birth.

They have written a letter to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi requesting a meeting to discuss this pressing issue.

“At the moment we are carrying out the job of obstetric nurses... We are asking to be allowed to do our job, which ultimately means we want more responsibilities,” midwife Doris Grima said during a press conference yesterday organised by the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses.

Ms Grima and her colleague Ċensina Deschrijver also expressed their concern about the overcrowding in maternity wards brought about by the high numbers of Caesarean and induced births.

Such births, rather than natural births, meant mothers had to spend more time in hospital and precious bed space was taken up, they said.

They argued that if they were allowed to do their job and follow through a natural pregnancy, keeping the mother informed of her birth choices at all times, the overcrowding problem would be solved.

Meanwhile, MUMN president Paul Pace said the union was giving the health division a month to introduce the promised protocols on inductions and Caesareans.

If the division was not forthcoming, he said, the union would have to issue directives in the interest of the midwives who did not want to be held responsible for anything that might go wrong.

Mr Pace pointed out that the issue of overcrowding in maternity wards, caused by Caesareans and induced births, had been raised last month and the health department had said it would revise guidelines and protocols. But this had not yet happened.

A Health Ministry spokesman said the updates of protocols for Caesareans and inductions were still being discussed internally within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Mr Pace also referred to the recent death of two premature babies at the Neonatal Paediatric Intensive Care Unit where there was overcrowding due to the lack of regulation of IVF procedures.

The overcrowding occurred as five mothers, who received IVF during the same period, gave birth to four sets of triplets and a pair of twins within the space of a few weeks.

In the long term the union also wanted the re-introduction of midwife-led clinics that had been closed about 10 years ago.

Ms Grima and Ms Deschrijver joined in on this call saying these clinics would allow pregnant women to receive advice and care from experienced midwives throughout their pregnancy and even afterwards, either at Mater Dei Hospital or within the community.

They said their age-old profession, which required a university degree, meant they were capable of dealing with a normal healthy pregnancy throughout. This meant a healthy mother did not need to see a doctor.

They were trained to refer the mother to a doctor if there were any risks of complications. This would mean mothers being told about their birth options including natural births, induced births and Caesareans.

Unfortunately, they said, mothers were not being well enough informed and were opting for the latter “because their doctor told them to”.

Ms Deschrijver said recent figures showed Malta had a 38 per cent induction rate and a 14.5 per cent Caesarean rate.