Question

Why do experts and the media talks about traditional birth attendants? 2 what do they say about them

Answer 1

traditional midwivies provide basic health care support and advice during and after pregnancy and childbirth based primarily on experience and knowledge acquired informally through the traditions and practices of the communities where they originated

1. they usually work in rural remote and other medically underserved areas . TBAs may not recive formal education and training in health care provision and there are no specific professional requisties such as certification or licensure. a traditional birth attendant may have been formally educated and has chosen to not register.

2. they often learn their trade through apprenticeship or are self taught in many communities one of the criteria for being accepted as a mother .Many traditional midwivies are also herbalists or other traditional healers .They many or many not be integrated in the formal health care system. They sometimes serve as a bridge between the community women to health facilities for delivery.

throught afrecian history traditional birth attendents have provided maternity care for women despite having no formal training. unicef figures show 1 in every 126 Tanzanian women dying due to maternity complications and the story is same in Ghana. are women putting their lives at risk unnecessarily?

for many women tradition and local customes prevent hospital for others it is the proximity to medical facilities there is just no way they could reach a hospital in time to give birth. TBA provide them with all the care they need both childbirth and there is no doubt they provided a much needed resource. the problem is that many of these TBAs inherit the job from their mothers or are simply respected older members of the community .In the majorty of cases the women are illiterate and have learnt their skills from other TBAs or just through the course of their lives. threy may consider themselves to be like private health practitioners but can they spot complications or cope with problems any better than you or I?

they answer is they cant .they june copy of the practising midwife commented that a women is 14 times more likely to die in childbirth than in a developed country.Although many people belive the problem is a lack of eduction amongst rural villagers and that the answer is to raise awereness amongst t rural that hospital births are dramatically safer that is not the answer.

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