From midwife to doctor: 82-year-old’s remarkable journey to a PhD - IOL

Dolly Nyasulu, 82, earns UKZN PhD after six decades in maternal healthcare.

After more than six decades in nursing and maternal healthcare, Dr Dolly Nontuthuzelo Nyasulu, 82, has graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).

For Nyasulu, the achievement is not only the culmination of years of academic work, but also the fulfilment of a lifelong dream shaped by more than six decades in nursing, midwifery and maternal and newborn healthcare.

“I feel incredibly good and very excited. I still cannot believe that I have made it to the finish line. It has been such a long journey, with many challenges along the way, so reaching this point feels very special to me,” said Nyasulu.

Her doctoral research, titled A Family-Centred Postnatal Care Approach (FCPC) in Rural KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, examined how families could play a more meaningful role in caring for mothers and newborn babies.

At the centre of Nyasulu’s research is family-centred postnatal care, an approach in which family members work alongside healthcare professionals, including midwives, to support mothers and their newborns.

Her research found that midwives and other key informants responded positively to the concept and suggested that families could be involved even before a baby is born.

Nyasulu believes that implementing such an approach could strengthen the continuum of maternal and newborn care and potentially contribute to reducing preventable deaths among mothers and babies.

While family-centred care is used internationally, she said it had not yet been fully implemented within South Africa’s healthcare system.

For Nyasulu, the subject is deeply personal.

Her interest in family involvement in childbirth dates back to her nursing training at Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth in 1964. As a young nurse, she was fascinated by stories from midwives who travelled to women’s homes to assist with deliveries.

Those births often involved entire families, with relatives playing different roles in supporting the mother and midwife.

The experience left a lasting impression and ultimately inspired Nyasulu to specialise in midwifery.

“This study feels like a full-circle moment for me,” she said.

Born in King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape, Nyasulu is the eldest of nine children. Her professional qualifications include training in general nursing, midwifery, psychiatric nursing, advanced midwifery and neonatal nursing.

She later obtained a Bachelor of Nursing degree specialising in Community Health Nursing and Nursing Administration, followed by a Clinical Master’s in Nursing specialising in Maternal, Child and Women’s Health.

Her career has included serving as the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Maternal, Child and Women’s Health Coordinator. She has also been involved in maternal and newborn health initiatives, midwifery education, healthcare policy and the development of national and provincial guidelines.

But the road to her PhD was far from easy.

While pursuing her doctorate, Nyasulu endured a series of devastating personal tragedies.

She lost her daughter in 2019, followed by two brothers and, several years later, her husband, Guy, who she described as her greatest supporter.

She also faced health challenges while having to adapt to the technological demands of postgraduate study.

Despite the setbacks, she continued.

“In many ways, I feel that I did not walk this journey alone. There were people around me who carried me when I no longer felt I could carry myself,” she said.

Her determination was also fuelled by the values instilled in her by her parents, who believed strongly in education, as well as encouragement from her late brother, Professor Leonard Vuyani Mabinya, who urged her to pursue studies beyond her master’s degree.

Now retired, Nyasulu said she remained open to opportunities that would allow her to continue contributing to maternal, newborn and women’s health.