TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In the past few months, Misnah Pither has been relentlessly updating her knowledge on pregnancy and childcare. Each day, once she has finished with her day job as a midwife at the Kassi-Kassi Community Health Center (Puskesmas) at Rappocini subdistrict in Makassar, South Sulawesi, she reads books on the topic or browses the Internet.
The midwife feels the need to update herself continuously, because she often receives questions from her patients, either pregnant women or breastfeeding mothers. "Most of them are very inquisitive. They ask a lot of questions," she told Tempo English two weeks ago.
The 59-year-old woman has been a midwife for more than 40 years, but it was not until recently that she felt her engagement with patients becoming more interactive. Before, her job mainly had to do with scheduling appointments, and her patients would only ask her one or two questions when they visited the Puskesmas for a routine check-up or vaccination.
"But now, every time they have something in mind, they will immediately contact me," she added.
Misnah says the ease of interaction between herself and the patients is due to the SMSBunda application, a short messaging service that provides a one-way information traffic for pregnant women or lactating mothers.
Before the application existed, Misnah's team had to arrange a time for the women so they could receive counseling and receive the necessary information on pregnancy and childcare. But the process was long and cumbersome because not all the women were able to attend these sessions. The team would then have to arrange extra sessions or go door-to-door.
"But because of SMSBunda, they can get the information they need faster. And later, they can ask us questions on what they don't understand," she said. Misnah believes her work as a midwife is now more effective. Next year she will retire from her job, but she hopes that the interaction between patients and midwives will continue.
Meanwhile, Ira Muspira, a housewife from Makassar and an active user of the SMSBunda application, admitted the short messages she receives have been a lifesaver. She is absent-minded and has the likelihood of forgetting important things she needs to do during pregnancy, "Such as taking vitamins, or what not to eat, and remembering to do routine check-ups. These [reminders] are all sent to my phone by SMSBunda," said the 35-year-old woman.
In addition to information concerning pregnancy, Ira also receives advice on childcare and health tips for toddlers up to 2 years old. She has three children and is grateful for any help on how to take care of them.
Ira first heard about the application from her sister, Suhartini, who volunteers at the nearby Puskesmas. Suhartini got her to sign up in May this year. Within a week, Ira began receiving two to three messages, usually before noon. "I hope this application will continue to be improved, with more information. It's very useful for a mother like me," said Ira. (*)
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