History of Nursing and Midwifery in Bahrain

 In 1900 the prevailing illnesses and the environmental health conditions in Bahrain were appalling. Maternity care was non-existent in those times, and women delivered in their homes with poor sanitation with the help of local midwives known as Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA). The death rate from childbirth was high. Obstructed labour was managed by ritual prayer. Midwifery practice in Bahrain started with TBAs, then the recruitment of expatriate midwives, and then the opening of midwifery schools, followed by a program to train local graduate midwives. 

This article presents the progress of midwifery practice and maternity care in Bahrain from its early beginning at the turn of the century. In 1926, the American Mission Hospital opened the first women’s hospital with trained midwives. The American Mission Hospital initially could not cope with all the maternity work in Bahrain because of their religious affiliation. Bahraini Muslim people refused them to enter their homes.

In 1930 the first trained midwife Mrs Flora Dalvi (Um Jan), born in Istanbul, was appointed to Muharraq Municipality. She received her nursing and midwifery degree from Iraq. She moved to Bahrain with her husband and worked for almost 25 years in Bahrain.

Other midwives were hired to run women’s clinics for prenatal and childcare and conduct deliveries (the majority came from India).  In 1937, Midwife Singh arrived from India, joined Um Jan at American Mission Hospital, and served maternity hospitals for 37 years until she retired.

In 1940 main Governmental Hospital was opened under the name of Naim Hospital in Bahrain. In 1941 Ms Fatima Al Zayani, the first Bahraini nurse-midwife, was appointed to the maternity services. She received her training from Baghdad.

In the late 1950s, a new maternity hospital at Salmaniya Hospital was opened, a 30-bed hospital in Muharraq and a 12-bed hospital in Hidd.

By the late 1960s, Maternity services in rural areas were opened (in Sitra, Riffa and Western Region) to serve the villages.  Until the opening of the school of nursing in 1959, all nurse-midwives were non-Bahraini, except for Ms Fatima Al Zayani.

In 1978 the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) training was established for practical nurses. The training was a six-month in-service course by the College of Health Sciences (CHS) Nursing Division. The graduates delivered MCH care in the community’s maternity hospitals and health centers and functioned as assistants to community health nurses and nurse midwives.

In 1969, Mrs Beema Sultan and Mrs Fatima Alsiddiqi were among the early nurses awarded a scholarship to specialise in midwifery and obstetrics in Kuwait. Mrs Maryam Ahmed Saeed was also sent to Kuwait to study midwifery in 1971. All three had a pioneering role in developing midwifery services at the Ministry of Health and Bahrain Defence Force medical services.

In 1977 the Nurse Midwifery program was developed by a WHO midwifery consultant Ms Ingrid Niemann, an educator from Sweden. The formal one-year post-Associate Degree diploma program prepared nurses to deliver mothers and care for pregnant women safely. Mrs Hakeema Ghuloom, a graduate of this program, pursued teaching in this program alongside and under the guidance of Ms Niemann; she later became the first Bahraini head of the program; she also had a pioneering role in developing midwifery services at SMC. Ms Fakhreya Dairy and Ms Rabab Jawhary were selected to join the nurse-midwifery program as teachers.

Currently, most Bahraini nurse-midwives are in higher positions, such as lecturers in midwifery programs; some presently occupy key positions in nursing management in maternity hospitals. Others obtained their master’s and PhD qualifications. Dr Fakhria Dairi, a Bahraini midwife, was appointed by his Majesty the King of Bahrain as a member of the Shura Council in 2002, she also runs her own maternity and family counselling clinic since 2007.  Dr Naeema. Al-Gasseer was selected for the Senior Scientist for Nursing and Midwifery position at WHO in 1999 and is presently the WHO representative in Egypt. 

Dr Jameela Mukhaimer is another Bahraini midwife who pursued her doctoral degree and became a licensed midwife practitioner in 2000, today she runs her own clinic as a midwife practitioner. Finally in 2022, a nurse-midwife Dr Leena Khunji was appointed as the Dean of the College of Health and Sport Sciences (CHSS).

To conclude, Bahraini Midwives are committed to providing high-quality holistic reproductive health services to women, neonates, and families cost-effectively and within the available resources. Their services are directed towards achieving the national health strategy 2030. Midwives are well-respected and trusted members of her community.