As a midwife, women are at the centre of her profession.
And for the past decade, Jolene Tromp has been focussed on creating a beautiful birthing experience for all women.
Having studied to become a registered nurse in 2005, she has since qualified as a registered midwife.
“I have been a midwife for just over 10 years. In South Africa, you have to be a nursing sister and study to become a registered nurse before you specialise in midwifery,” she says.
After graduating, she worked for another year to become a midwife. Thus far, she has built her career working in the private health sector.
“It has been an incredible journey to now. I have been working in the private hospital sector for most of my midwifery career and it’s been both fun and challenging. I have learnt so much and also realised the differences actually faced in our communities with regard to where you go to deliver your baby and that’s become one of my personal passions, to make the birthing space for all women safe and women-friendly,” she says.
Fighting for every woman to have a dignified and pleasurable birthing experience is part of her role as a midwife, despite the challenges, pain and discomfort associated with the pregnancy and birthing process.
“I am part of a non-profit organisation, Embrace, which advocates for women’s rights, especially women in the birthing space. We are activists for changing the birthing space where women are being treated with so much violence and disrespect. We are fighting so that all women in the health care space are treated with dignity and respect and the way they are intended to be treated while doing one of the most dangerous and brave things in their lives – birthing babies,” she says.
Another challenge she has encountered is women’s voices not being heard by health professionals.
“Sometimes a partner, mother or friend is asked to speak on behalf of a birthing mother, and my goal is to always make women feel heard when being treated by me,” she says.
“There is so much work still to be done around the safety of women and treatment of women. This is something I am very passionate about.”
A common misconception is that midwifery is only about the baby.
“This is something even I thought when getting into the industry – that you deliver the baby and then we are done. But, actually, there is so much that goes into delivery. Getting the mother started on her postnatal journey and teaching her how to be a mother,” she says.
“As much as a mother is born when you are pregnant or give birth, there is so much to be learnt with regard to mothering and having a newborn baby.”
A midwife’s role post-birth is also to make sure the new mom is comfortable, confident and equipped to take care of her newborn once discharged from hospital.
“I encourage moms to ask for help. For a long time, we have been martyrs, just believing a mother has to struggle on her own, believing it is just going to be hard. Asking for help and not taking everything on yourself is a focus,” she says.
“As much as we care for the baby, we care for women. We always want to make sure that you know how to be a mom. It is an everyday learning curve and an everyday journey, but if you start off right and you make the mother feel safe and give her a dignified birthing experience, it really sets the tone for the rest of her journey as a mom.”
Women, in general, neglect their regular health checks, she says. One such common health test is a pap smear.
“Many women don’t know they are meant to have this. It is advised that if you are sexually active, you must have regular pap smears,” she says.
“It is important to take care of your reproductive health, even if you are not planning to have a baby yet, because what you do in your younger years has a great influence on whether you will be able to have children one day, how the journey will be, so this is important.”
To avoid complications when trying to reproduce, she says hormonal testing and regular checks for cancers through gynaecological visits and pap smears are best.
“I want to encourage women not to be afraid of going to the gynecologist or clinics for regular checkups, because this can literally save your life. There are so many women in my job, who have neglected to do the basics, such as pap smears, and then we sit with issues that could have been avoided. As women, we need to take charge of ourselves, of our lives, of our health,” she says.
Men still have too much say in the gynecological health of women, she says.
“When a woman wants to be sterilised, she first needs to consult her husband or partner, it is not a decision she can make on her own. I would love for the health care sector to be more women-focused and treat us like the brave, strong, intelligent women that we are. We can make decisions for ourselves, especially when it comes to our health,” she says.
She says, in South Africa, it is clear that women won’t necessarily be protected by the government or men.
“I advise women to take care of one another. We are under so much pressure, being mothers, wives, sisters, employees. The least we can do for each other is to be each other’s keeper. Take care of each other, look out for each other, make sure that your mother, neighbour, cousin, sister or friend is fine and coping, that the kids are fine,” she says.
“We need to look after each other, because no one else is taking care of us. We should not bad-mouth and criticise each other, but instead lift each other up, because that is the easiest and only way we will ever be able to survive in this climate. Have each other’s best interest at heart, rather than looking at them as if you are better. We are in so much danger.
“Do not turn a blind eye to what is going on, be there for each other.”
- Follow Jolene Tromp on Facebook at The Krulkop Midwife for more information and tips on women’s health.
