They must explain the matter properly while giving the treatment
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Midwives should be more empathetic while introducing family planning programs and debunking rumors on contraceptives to residents, the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) head emphasized.

"Midwives or doctors sometimes have no empathy while explaining the matter. They treat patients as fellow doctors, and their language is too complicated. They must explain the matter properly while giving the treatment," BKKBN Head Hasto Wardoyo remarked during the "Stunting in Indonesia & How Midwives Can Play Their Role to Prevent it?" webinar observed here on Saturday.

As health practitioners, midwives must understand the Aristotelian persuasion concept of ethos, logos, and pathos (ethical, logical, and emotional appeals) to ensure their efforts to educate residents about contraceptives is successful, the agency head stressed.

Midwife's efforts to educate residents can dispel many rumors and myths about contraceptives that are discouraging them from using them, he noted while pointing out the dangers of IUD contraceptives as one rumor for which clarification should be tendered.

Wardoyo reminded midwives to use simple language that is easy to understand to inform mothers about contraceptives, especially as some 80 percent of Indonesian mothers went into labor with midwives.

"IUD contraceptive is special because some IUDs are made of copper, while other IUDs are hormone-free. Hence, if someone is thin or fat, has acne or spots, it is not caused by the IUD," he stated.

The agency head has suggested midwives to inform mothers that the IUD contraceptive will not deflect once placed in the mother's womb and will not affect body organs or the fetus.

Proper communication on contraceptives by midwives is expected to bolster the contraception utilization rate among mothers, currently only standing at 29 percent, to provide gap between pregnancies and prevent stunting prevalence among infants, he explained.

"Every woman would say no if they were being asked whether they want to be pregnant again in the year that they underwent labor, but they would also say no to contraceptives. This is our most urgent issue, and midwives are our mainstay to address this issue," Wardoyo remarked.

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Translator: Hreeloita DS, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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