Women’s Ministries Emphasis Day 2022. The midwives in Egypt

June 11th, 2022 is Women's Ministries Emphasis Day. “Heroines of Faithfulness” is the theme of the special Sabbath. We find two women protagonists of the Day in a few verses of the book of Exodus and we also know their names: Shiphrah and Puah. They are the two midwives who chose "to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29, NKJV) and refused to kill baby boys when Jewish mothers gave birth. Their example offers insights for us today and inspired the theme of the seminar. When Shiphrah and Puah decided not to obey Pharaoh's order (note that, unlike the humble midwives, the Bible does not tell us the Pharaoh's name), the text says that "they feared God". What does this mean? How should we understand it? The seminar "Developing the fear of God" tries to answer these and other questions.
Midwives Yesterday and Today
The experience of Shiphrah and Puah made me think that a today midwife could understand them better than anyone. So, I asked Dagmar Dorn, EUD WM director, and midwife, some questions.
As a midwife, how do you feel when you read the experience of Shiphrah and Puah?
DD:I admire their courage, their resoluteness, and the conviction that what they were doing is right. God blessed them for that. I also think they were in one sense also diplomatic towards the Pharaoh as they told him that Hebrew women are faster in delivering, which could have been a blessing from God. These are qualities that are still needed in midwives today. I would even say that midwives are advocates for women in vulnerable situations as Shiphrah and Puah had been.
Do you think that somehow there might be some kind of "Pharaohs" even today?
DD:Yes, I think so. It is interesting that in history, midwives were often under attack by doctors or even priests because they knew things from the intimate family circles that nobody else would know. And that made them suspicious. They were considered competitors or sometimes even abused in their role, especially during the Nazi era. Nowadays, there can also be differences of opinion between midwives and doctors in the way they treat and care for women and their view of childbirth. As doctors are higher in the hierarchy, this can lead to conflicts between them.
Why did you choose this profession?
DD:My first profession was as a nurse. During my studies, I had the opportunity to do an internship in the maternity ward, which impressed me so much and made me want to become a midwife. Since my childhood, I had dreamed of being a missionary nurse. There it is an advantage if you are a midwife.That's why I trained as a midwife and have stayed in the profession ever since. It has become my favorite profession.
You worked as a missionary in various countries. How was it? Could you tell us a particular experience you lived there?
DD:Oh yes, that was a very exciting and instructive time. My first assignment more than 25 years ago, was in Papua New Guinea. I worked there as a volunteer midwife in an Adventist hospital for one year. I often had to make decisions on my own for which no one had prepared me. Later on, I had several short-term assignments in Ethiopia. My last one was just before the outbreak of the pandemic in January 2020.
Mostly I learned how to deal with different cultures, show respect, teach them and engage with the people there. A talent for improvisation was often needed, e.g. when there was a power cut then you had to continue working under difficult conditions.
I was more aware of my dependence on God, as there is much less opportunity to intervene because of lack of equipment or staff and a hospital is further away.
I remember a situation at night when a pregnant woman in labor, was brought to the health center. Not long after her arrival, a baby in breech position was born. Soon it was clear that the little boy was premature. Then I noticed that there was a second baby in the womb. We didn't have an ultrasound to know this beforehand. Sometime later, the second boy was born, also in a breech position. The mother’s abdomen had not changed much, and we found out that there was a third child, who was born a little later. The mother, who already had 5 children at home, was quite shocked that she had triplets. The second boy was not in a good condition and died after a few hours.
When I was working there last time, I had the chance to see that mother again, one boy finally had survived and she was so happy that he had stayed with her. Under these circumstances, it was still a miracle.
As reported by Lina Ferrara, WM Director, Italian Union