SIDON, Lebanon: Salma Bsat still remembers the acceleration of her heart as she helped a mother deliver her baby for the first time nearly 50 years ago.

Salma, 78, is the only midwife still practicing in the southern coastal city of Sidon, where she says the profession of midwifery once had high standing and there were many women who practiced it.

She always feels joy when a newborn sees the world for the first time, but sometimes Salma must scold fathers who complain when their wives give birth to daughters because they prefer sons.

“They are idiots,” Salma said. “God has given them a healthy child yet they reject it.”

Salma learned midwifery from her aunt, Um Salim Masri, a trained midwife who used to take Salma with her to deliveries.

“Once my aunt had two women in labor at the same time and I had to help one of them give birth,” Salma said. “When the woman gave birth to a boy, I had goose bumps and my heart accelerated. It was at that moment that my aunt told me I was qualified to become a midwife.”

Decades ago, Sidon had many midwives who were supervised by one formally trained midwife, according to Jamila Zahra, who gave birth to six children at home with the help of a midwife. She said that women used to prefer giving birth at home because there were few female doctors, or husbands were unable to afford the hospital expenses.

In addition to her aunt, Salma expresses her gratitude to Dr. Robert Abboud, an OB-GYN who used to encourage her work and allow her into delivery rooms in the Naqib Hospital in Sidon.

“When I first started my career, the other midwives were afraid of me as I had become known and was smart. I could compete with them after I studied with Dr. Abboud,” Salma said.

Abboud taught her about the culture of birth and allowed her into delivery rooms as there were no female doctors and sometimes the expectant parents did not wish for a male doctor to be present unless medically necessary.

“People prefer midwives because they are more comfortable with them,” Salma added. “Midwives can keep a woman’s secrets.” However, whenever she has worries about a pregnancy, Salma asks the expectant mother to get an ultrasound at the hospital.

During the Israeli occupation of the city in 1982, patrols used to stop her at night on her way to assist women in giving birth. “I had records of all the births on a notebook but it was destroyed during the Israeli invasion,” Salma said.

She does still have some records of newborns and their mothers, which show one particularly busy month when Salma helped deliver 75 babies.

According to Salma, midwives used to be paid LL5 to LL7 in decades past, while now she receives LL100,000 for each delivery. “As for the families who cannot afford to pay me, I help with the delivery for free and offer them money to buy the things they need for the newborn,” Salma said.

Salma has a special room in her home for delivery which she keeps sterile, and she provides the newborns with a birth certificate.

“I feel the same when I help other women give birth as when I gave birth to my children,” Salma said. “It is a feeling of humanity which my aunt taught me when she helped me give birth to my five children.”

Fatima Sousan, who gave birth to seven children with Salma’s help, said that the midwife brought tranquility to people’s hearts. “Salma is an educated midwife who sympathizes with the pregnant woman,” she said. “When labor is difficult, Salma sings peacefully and laughs the fear away.”