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The role of midwives is a significant contribution to reproductive health services, especially in Indonesia’s Disadvantaged, Border, and Island Regions (DTPK). They not only assist with childbirth but also provide contraceptive services and even serve as an entry point for reporting sexual violence experienced by women. Many women choose to access reproductive health services through midwives because, in many areas, the distance to health facilities such as community health centers (puskesmas) and hospitals is quite far. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure quality midwifery services to empower women and enable them to make decisions about their own bodies. <\/p>\n
One of the main principles in midwifery services to support women’s reproductive choices is through the Respectful Midwifery Care (RMC)<\/em> approach. What exactly does this approach mean? Why is RMC important in discussions about reproductive health services? Let’s talk with expert and midwife Jamilatus Sa’diyah, also known as Bidan Mila. This discussion is moderated by IPAS Indonesia Foundation’s Policy and Advocacy Staff, Ignatia Glory, also known as Igna. <\/p>\n Igna: What is meant by <\/strong>Respectful Midwifery Care (RMC) and why is this approach important for midwives to implement<\/em><\/strong>?<\/strong> <\/p>\n Bidan Mila: Respectful Midwifery Care is a dignified, humane, and respectful service. Essentially, it’s women-centered; midwives must empower women so they can decide on reproductive health services that suit their needs. For example, if a patient comes to a midwife wanting to use contraception, the midwife needs to explain in detail all the benefits, side effects, limitations, and advantages. Provide complete information, and let the patient be in control of her decision. This approach is important for midwives to implement because midwifery services should not only focus on medical procedures but also respect women’s bodily autonomy and well-being. <\/em> <\/p>\n Igna: What is the concrete manifestation of respecting women’s bodily autonomy? <\/strong> <\/p>\n Bidan Mila: Essentially, it’s about respecting women’s choices. Women have the full right to choose what contraception they want to use, when they want to get pregnant, or how they want to give birth, and these decisions should not be taken over by midwives, husbands, or family. Education must be conducted with empathetic language, not blame. For example, after contraception counseling, if a patient chooses an IUD or coil, we must respect her decision, instead of commenting, “You already have 5 children, why only use an IUD? You should just get sterilized.” We must create services that make women feel safe and comfortable. It is also important for midwives to ask for and obtain consent before any action, even for something as simple as wanting to uncover a patient. Don’t just say, “Ma’am, please uncover!”, but explain the procedure that will be performed. With their autonomy respected, women will be better prepared to undergo their reproductive processes. <\/em> <\/p>\n Igna: In an ideal world, all decisions could certainly be made by women themselves. However, in reality, there are situations known as <\/strong>reproductive coercion<\/em><\/strong>? Why does this happen?<\/strong> <\/p>\n Bidan Mila: Reproductive coercion is any form of pressure, control, or action that deprives women of their right to control their bodies and reproductive decisions. Examples include the insertion of contraception without patient consent. There are cases where IUDs are secretly inserted after childbirth, and women only discover their presence months or even years later. That is clearly a form of violence. Another example is when a woman wants to use contraception but her partner forbids it. Reproductive coercion occurs due to a strong combination of patriarchal culture, social pressure, religious stigma, and restrictive regulations. <\/em> <\/p>\n Igna: If a woman wants to use contraception but her partner refuses, how is the principle of RMC applied in such conditions?<\/strong> <\/p>\n Bidan Mila: Certainly, we must continue to listen to women and empower them through clear information. Then, if possible and safe, midwives can invite partners to discuss with an empathetic approach, not to corner the husband, but to help them understand that maternal and child health is also a shared responsibility. In some cases, good education helps partners understand better. However, we must also be realistic: there are situations where discussion can trigger conflict or even violence. In such conditions, women’s safety becomes the top priority, and midwives need to provide more cautious support and ensure access to services that do not endanger them. Regulations requiring spousal consent often put midwives in a dilemma, because even though they want to help women, they fear facing sanctions or threats from the family. Therefore, policy reform is urgently needed. <\/em> <\/p>\n Igna: Considering socio-cultural dynamics, whose responsibility is contraception? <\/strong> <\/p>\n Bidan Mila: Ideally, the responsibility for contraception is shared by both partners. Unfortunately, socially, this burden almost always falls on women. However, there are many contraceptive methods for men, from condoms to vasectomy, which carry significantly lower risks compared to women’s hormonal contraception. I even shared that in my family, my husband uses contraception because he knows I have struggled through pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. Men need to be more involved, not to take over decisions, but to share the burden and support their partner’s reproductive health. <\/em> <\/p>\n Want to hear more about the discussion on Respectful Midwifery Care? You can listen to the full recording of the Instagram Live via the link below. <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/ipasindonesiad.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Instagram-Live-September-819×1024-1.webp” title_text=”Instagram-Live-September-819×1024″ _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Every month, IPAS Indonesia Foundation holds discussions related to reproductive justice, gender, and women’s issues on Instagram Live. You can follow IPAS Indonesia Foundation’s Instagram to learn more. <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.5″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″] The role of midwives is a significant contribution to reproductive health services, especially in Indonesia’s Disadvantaged, Border, and Island Regions (DTPK). They not only assist with childbirth but also provide contraceptive services and even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[155],"tags":[],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-3475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipasindonesia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipasindonesia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipasindonesia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipasindonesia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipasindonesia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipasindonesia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipasindonesia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipasindonesia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipasindonesia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipasindonesia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3475"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipasindonesia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=3475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}