scholarly journals GUATEMALA’S INDIGENOUS MATERNAL HEALTH CARE: A SYSTEM IN NEED OF DECOLONIZATION

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Alicia Giralt
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Maternal Health ◽  
Central America ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Maternal Health Care ◽  
Traditional Birth Attendants ◽  
Birth Attendants ◽  
Las Mujeres ◽  
Cuerpo Femenino

Las tasas de mortalidad materna guatemalteca son las más altas de Centroamérica. Dichas tasas varían drásticamente entre grupos étnicos, con las más altas presentes entre mujeres rurales mayas. Mientras Guatemala se esfuerza para reducir estas cifras, la controversia se centra en comadronas tradicionales. Esta investigación estudia el papel de dichas comadronas dentro de un marco postcolonialista y descolonialista. Los resultados muestran un país bajo el legado de la colonización, manifestado en el cuerpo femenino colonizado. Un cambio de paradigma es crucial en relación con las comadronas y sus pacientes. La salud reproductiva de las mujeres indígenas no mejorará hasta que esto suceda y la atención médica sea descolonizada.Palabras clave: maya, mujer, indígena, salud maternal, mortalidad, colonialism, postcolonialismo, descolonialismo, partera, comadrona.  Guatemala’s Indigenous Maternal Health Care: A System in Need of DecolonizationAbstract: Guatemala’s Maternal Mortality Ratios are the highest in Central America. These ratios vary drastically among ethnic groups, the highest occurring among rural Mayan women. As Guatemala struggles to reduce its MMRs, the controversy centers on Mayan Traditional Birth Attendants. This research investigates the role of Mayan traditional midwives within the framework of Postcolonialism. The results show a country under the legacy of colonization, manifested in the female colonized body. A paradigm shift is crucial in relation to both traditional birth  attendants and their patients. Indigenous women’s reproductive health will not improve until health care, a legacy of Colonialism, is decolonized.Key words: Maya, woman, indigenous, maternal health, mortality, Colonialism, Postcolonialism, Decolonialism, midwives.

scholarly journals Perspective of Traditional Birth Attendants on Their Experiences and Roles in Maternal Health Care in Rural Areas of Northern Ghana

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Adatara ◽  
Agani Afaya ◽  
Elizabeth A. Baku ◽  
Solomon Mohammed Salia ◽  
Anthony Asempah
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Maternal Health ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Maternal Health Care ◽  
Traditional Birth Attendants ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
Birth Attendants

Background. Traditional birth attendants play significant roles in maternal health care in the rural communities in developing countries such as Ghana. Despite their important role in maternal health care, there is paucity of information from the perspective of traditional birth attendants regarding their role on maternal health care in rural areas in Ghana. Objective. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the role of traditional birth attendants in maternal health care in the rural areas in Ghana. Methods. A qualitative explorative approach was adopted to explore the role of traditional birth attendants in maternal health care in the rural areas of Ghana. Ten (10) out of a total of twenty-seven (27) practising traditional birth attendants in the study area were purposefully selected from five (5) rural communities in the Bongo District of Ghana for the study. Data were collected through in-depth, unstructured, individual interviews using a guide. Data collected from the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed to identify themes. Results. Six main roles of traditional birth attendants on maternal health care in rural areas were identified in this study: traditional birth attendants conduct deliveries at home, they provide health education to women on nutrition during pregnancy and lactation, they arrange means of transport and accompany women in labour to health facilities, they provide psychological support and counselling to women during pregnancy and childbirth, and traditional birth attendants are not paid in cash for the services they render to women in the rural areas. Conclusion. Our study brought to light the critical role traditional birth attendants play in maternity in rural and remote areas in Ghana. There is a need for skilled birth attendants to collaborate with traditional birth attendants in rural and deprived communities to provide quality and culturally accepted care in the rural communities.

scholarly journals Understanding Barriers and Facilitators of Maternal Health Care Utilization in Central Myanmar

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 1464
Author(s):  
Maja Aleksandra Milkowska-Shibata ◽  
Thin Thin Aye ◽  
San Myint Yi ◽  
Khin Thein Oo ◽  
Kyi Khaing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Maternal Health ◽  
Antenatal Care ◽  
Maternal Mortality Ratio ◽  
Maternal Health Care ◽  
Traditional Birth Attendants ◽  
Barriers And Facilitators ◽  
Care Utilization ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
Birth Attendants

The study objective was to examine barriers and facilitators of maternal health services utilization in Myanmar with the highest maternal mortality ratio in Southeast Asia. Data for 258 mothers with children under five were extracted from a community health survey administered between 2016 and 2017 in Mandalay, the largest city in central Myanmar, and analyzed for associations between determinants of maternal health care choices and related outcomes. The study showed that late antenatal care was underutilized (41.7%), and antenatal care attendance was significantly associated with geographical setting, household income, education, and access to transportation (p ≤ 0.05). Less than one-third of women gave birth at home and 18.5% of them did so without the assistance of traditional birth attendants. Household education level was a significant predictor for home delivery (p < 0.01). Utilization of postnatal care services was irregular (47.9%–70.9%) and strongly associated with women’s places of delivery (p < 0.01). Efforts geared towards improving maternal health outcomes should focus on supporting traditional birth attendants in their role of facilitating high-quality care and helping women reach traditional health facilities, as well as on maternal health literacy based on culturally appropriate communication.

scholarly journals Impact of Training of Traditional Birth Attendants on Maternal Health Care: A Community-based Study

2013 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 383-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Satishchandra ◽  
V. A. Naik ◽  
A. S. Wantamutte ◽  
M. D. Mallapur ◽  
H. N. Sangolli
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Maternal Health ◽  
Maternal Health Care ◽  
Traditional Birth Attendants ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Birth Attendants

scholarly journals HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS’ VIEWS CONCERNING KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES OF TRADITIONAL BIRTH ATTENDANTS IN TAJIKISTAN: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 479-495
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Maternal Health ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Skilled Birth Attendant ◽  
Maternal Health Care ◽  
Traditional Birth Attendants ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Birth Attendants

Introduction: This study seeks to explore health care providers’ perspectives of the traditional birth attendants’ knowledge and practices. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in 2018 with 16 health care professionals working at various levels of maternal health care system in two purposefully selected research settings, Khorog town and Dushanbe, which have different social, economic and ethnic backgrounds. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted to gather the data. Duration of interviews ranged from 30-60 min. NVivo software for qualitative research was used to analyse the results. Results: This study has shown that health care workers have extremely negative views of the knowledge and practices of traditional birth attendants. They highlight the lack of adequate knowledge of traditional birth attendants on biomedical aspects of birth, poor skills in infections control and lack of use of clean delivery practices. They also claim that the traditional birth attendants’ practices also lead to different complications while they are woefully unprepared to recognize obstetric complications during birth. Conclusion: The study recommends providing a skilled birth attendant in every area. It also recommends avoiding a homogeneous approach to address maternal health issues in diverse countries of the Global South and reviewing maternal health care policies and programs to provide the most marginalized groups of women with skilled birth services to improve their maternal health and further decrease maternal mortality in Tajikistan.

scholarly journals Sociocultural Determinants of the Utilization of Maternal Health Care Services in the Tallensi District in the Upper East Region of Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Mensah Dapaah ◽  
John Onzaberigu Nachinaab
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Maternal Health ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Maternal Health Care ◽  
Traditional Birth Attendants ◽  
Birth Attendants ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Pregnancy And Delivery ◽  
Maternal Health Care Services

Introduction. The quality maternal health care that women receive during pregnancy and delivery is important for the health of both the mother and the baby. However, most pregnant women do not receive the minimum number of antenatal care (ANC) services (at least 4 times during pregnancy) as recommended by the WHO. This article sought to identify the types of maternal health care services (MHCS) received by women during pregnancy and delivery and after childbirth and women’s reasons for use and nonuse of MHCS. Methods. The study adopted the social survey design where 366 women were sampled using probability sampling technique. The data was collected through the use of questionnaire. Results. The study results revealed that some sociocultural factors such as age, religion, traditional belief system, education, and marital status influence women’s use of MHCS in the Talensi District. In addition, factors such as women’s National Health Insurance Scheme status, distance to health center, and attitude of health care professional determine their utilization of MHCS. To a large extent, these factors influence choice for traditional birth attendants over biomedically-based maternal health care services. Conclusion. The study recommended that there should be education for women on the need for them to utilize MHCS during pregnancy and delivery and after childbirth. Government should organize skill training for traditional birth attendants in the Talensi District.

scholarly journals The evolving role of traditional birth attendants in maternal health in post-conflict Africa: A qualitative study of Burundi and northern Uganda

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 205031211775363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Primus Che Chi ◽  
Henrik Urdal
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Maternal Health ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Traditional Birth Attendants ◽  
Northern Uganda ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Birth Attendants ◽  
Post Conflict

Objectives: Many conflict-affected countries are faced with an acute shortage of health care providers, including skilled birth attendants. As such, during conflicts traditional birth attendants have become the first point of call for many pregnant women, assisting them during pregnancy, labour and birth, and in the postpartum period. This study seeks to explore how the role of traditional birth attendants in maternal health, especially childbirth, has evolved in two post-conflict settings in sub-Saharan Africa (Burundi and northern Uganda) spanning the period of active warfare to the post-conflict era. Methods: A total of 63 individual semi-structured in-depth interviews and 8 focus group discussions were held with women of reproductive age, local health care providers and staff of non-governmental organisations working in the domain of maternal health who experienced the conflict, across urban, semi-urban and rural settings in Burundi and northern Uganda. Discussions focused on the role played by traditional birth attendants in maternal health, especially childbirth during the conflict and how the role has evolved in the post-conflict era. Transcripts from the interviews and focus group discussions were analysed by thematic analysis (framework approach). Results: Traditional birth attendants played a major role in childbirth-related activities in both Burundi and northern Uganda during the conflict, with some receiving training and delivery kits from the local health systems and non-governmental organisations to undertake deliveries. Following the end of the conflict, traditional birth attendants have been prohibited by the government from undertaking deliveries in both Burundi and northern Uganda. In Burundi, the traditional birth attendants have been integrated within the primary health care system, especially in rural areas, and re-assigned the role of ‘birth companions’. In this capacity they undertake maternal health promotion activities within their communities. In northern Uganda, on the other hand, traditional birth attendants have not been integrated within the local health system and still appear to undertake clandestine deliveries in some rural areas. Conclusion: The prominent role of traditional birth attendants in childbirth during the conflicts in Burundi and northern Uganda has been dwindling in the post-conflict era. Traditional birth attendants can still play an important role in facilitating facility and skilled attended births if appropriately integrated with the local health system.

scholarly journals Maternal Health Care Service Utilization and Its Role in Postpartum Family Planning Use in Nepal

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 79-91
Author(s):  
Momal Prasad Dulal
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Family Planning ◽  
Maternal Health ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Health Care Service ◽  
Maternal Health Care ◽  
Planning Method ◽  
Family Planning Method ◽  
Unintended Birth

Family planning and maternal health care programme has been initiated in an integrated approach for a long time in Nepal. However, the use status of family planning method could not be presented at good instance. The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), 1994 and later millennium development goal 2002, both paved the way out for the situation mostly in the developing countries. Nepal also has made some changes in its services aiming to reduce high maternal mortality and promote to use family planning method. Use of family planning method within 12 months after childbirth could be a right solution for many developing countries like Nepal having high unintended birth. Therefore, this paper aims to analyse the role of maternal health care service utilization in initiating use of family planning method after post-partum period. Women’s data file from Nepal Demographic Health Survey, 2011 has been used for the analysis. Bivariate and multivariate analysis result have revealed that the role of delivery care, controlling other variables seems to be much appreciable in getting family planning use within 12 months of delivery. Effects of some study variables besides delivery care remains unchanged in different models. Therefore, embracing family planning programme along with maternity care components would have implications towards - increasing current use of family planning, reducing the chances of unwanted/unintended birth, providing opportunities to control over female own body, contribution in achieving replacement level fertility and maintaining good health for both mother and the baby.

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