RIAMA midwives take social media by storm
An interview with Salma Elguera
Salma Elguera, 24, is a RIAMA midwife in Peru who uses TikTok to reach out to young people with important sexual and reproductive health messages. RIAMA is a network of midwives supported by the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition’s regional forum ForoLAC. Salma has more than 700K followers who flock to her site to learn about everything from female masturbation to how long intercourse lasts. She tells ForoLAC Regional Advisor Milka Dinev about how she got started, what keeps her going, and how patients flock to her after having seen her on TikTok.
What made you go into midwifery as a career?
After high school I was undecided, but was attracted to working with women to improve their sexual and reproductive health and their welfare. I entered Universidad San Martín de Porres at the age of 16 and had completed 11 semesters and an internship by the age of 21. Then I completed the SERUMS — a one-year service requirement in Peru.
What are the rewards?
I love practising preventive health care, and advising on the prevention of unwanted pregnancies.
What are the challenges?
People think that midwifery is not a medical career and that we are just helpers in delivering babies. I want to show that we are much more than that.
Have you always been musical?
Not really. I was initially scared, but I overcame my stage fright as I wanted to promote my private practice and reduce teen pregnancy. Adolescents are so unselfconscious that they inspire me to dance and send my messages. My dancing is not that great, but my messages are important. My early videos took two hours to make but now I can do one in 10–20 minutes.
What need does your work fill?
Young people face too many restrictions. OB-GYNs and midwives generally refuse to see them if they are unaccompanied by an adult. I often end up advocating for young women so they can get access to ultrasound services or see an OB-GYN without an adult.
Do you get opposition?
Sex for young people is taboo still in Peru, so many people will write frankly to me but there are no fights and no hate mail; my family fully supports me and even my little sister who is 5 years old dances to my TikTok though she does not understand the content.
What other plans do you have in the future?
I want to bring in other other medical professionals and resources into my private practice: a pediatrician, a general physician, a laboratory. I really want to start a polyclinic. Before the pandemic, I was scheduled to travel to Spain and learn about delivering babies in water births; I still want to do that once we can travel again.
Has there been a positive impact in sales for products?
When I first started making TikToks, I faced a low demand for contraceptives, but now, contraceptive sales have increased twenty-fold. I insert 3–4 implants per week and that is an expensive method. Women are traditionally reluctant to accept IUDs, but I am improving my counseling so that women can have wider choices more and more for this cost-beneficial method.
