Dr. Natasha Mwanza

Dr. Natasha Mwanza is a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist at Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital (LMUTH) in Lusaka, one of Zambia's leading public tertiary hospitals and a centre of excellence for maternal and women's health services. Over a 15-year career, Dr. Mwanza has built a practice that addresses the complex obstetric and gynaecological needs of women in Zambia, where high rates of maternal mortality and the dual burden of HIV and gynaecological cancer continue to present significant public health challenges.

At LMUTH, Dr. Mwanza manages a mixed caseload of high-risk obstetric cases — including pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and HIV in pregnancy — alongside gynaecological surgery and gynaecological oncology. She is a committed advocate for reducing preventable maternal deaths through evidence-based obstetric care and has been involved in training programmes aimed at improving emergency obstetric competencies among midwives and junior doctors across Zambia. She consults primarily in English and is equally fluent in Nyanja, enabling her to communicate directly with patients from Lusaka and the Eastern Province.

Dr. Mwanza completed her undergraduate medical training at the University of Zambia (UNZA) School of Medicine, graduating with her MBChB. She subsequently pursued post-graduate specialisation in obstetrics and gynaecology through UNZA's MMed programme, undertaking her clinical training principally at UTH and LMUTH. Her residency provided comprehensive exposure to normal and complicated obstetric deliveries, gynaecological surgery, and the management of gynaecological cancers in a resource-limited setting.

She has supplemented her specialist training with advanced skills workshops in cervical cancer prevention, including colposcopy training supported by international partners operating in Zambia, and has participated in the Safe Motherhood Initiative training programmes coordinated through the Ministry of Health. She is an active member of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Zambia and maintains registration with the Medical Council of Zambia.

Dr. Mwanza's clinical expertise encompasses the full scope of obstetrics and gynaecology required at a major Zambian public teaching hospital. In obstetrics, she specialises in the management of high-risk pregnancies, with particular expertise in pre-eclampsia and eclampsia — among the leading causes of maternal mortality in Zambia — gestational diabetes, multiple pregnancy, and HIV-positive pregnancies requiring antiretroviral therapy optimisation and prevention of mother-to-child transmission protocols.

Operatively, she performs caesarean sections including emergency Category-1 procedures, instrumental deliveries, and manages obstetric emergencies including postpartum haemorrhage with uterine compression sutures. In gynaecology, she performs total abdominal hysterectomy, myomectomy for uterine fibroids, management of ectopic pregnancy, and colposcopy and cervical biopsy for cervical cancer screening and diagnosis. She also performs diagnostic laparoscopy for pelvic pain and gynaecological pathology, and has experience in the surgical management of obstetric fistula — a condition still seen at Zambian referral hospitals — through basic repair techniques and referral to the dedicated fistula repair programme.

Dr. Mwanza has contributed to clinical audits and outcome studies within the LMUTH obstetrics and gynaecology department, including analyses of maternal mortality patterns and caesarean section rates. She has participated in cervical cancer screening programme evaluations supported by international NGO partners active in Zambia and has co-presented findings at the annual conference of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Zambia. She is engaged in ongoing data collection for a multi-hospital study on outcomes of eclampsia management in Zambian public hospitals.

Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital receives women from across Zambia's ten provinces who require specialist obstetric and gynaecological care unavailable at district or provincial hospital level, as well as patients from neighbouring Malawi and Zimbabwe. Dr. Mwanza also sees patients from the Zambian diaspora — particularly Zambian women based in the United Kingdom and South Africa — who return to Lusaka for obstetric care during pregnancy or for planned gynaecological procedures. Her consultations are conducted in English and in Nyanja, and she is experienced in explaining clinical information to patients across a wide range of health literacy levels. International and diaspora patients are advised to contact LMUTH's outpatient department to arrange advance scheduling for both obstetric bookings and gynaecological consultations.

Dr. Mwanza has received recognition from the Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital administration for her contribution to the hospital's maternal health outcomes and for her dedication to training junior medical staff and midwives in emergency obstetric care. She was acknowledged by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Zambia for her participation in national cervical cancer awareness campaigns. Her peers within the Zambian obstetrics and gynaecology community regard her as a skilled operative surgeon and an effective clinical educator committed to improving women's health outcomes in Zambia's public health system.