Training traditional birth attendants in Ghana
Approximately 250 out of 100,000 women die while giving birth or following complications after childbirth in Ghana. The figures are higher in some rural areas where health education is poor and the facilities inadequate and where traditional birth attendants provide the only healthcare services available to mothers and their children.
 |
| A traditional birth attendant at work in Ghana |
 | Tettenyumu, 40, has been working as a traditional birth attendant for over ten years and throughout her career she has delivered enough children to populate an entire village.
She grew up in the Eastern Region of Ghana watching her mother and other relatives helping neighbours to safely deliver their children and became a traditional birth attendant when her husband died and her family was overwhelmed by financial difficulties.
"I had already earned a reasonable reputation in the neighbourhood, and so people referred me to Plan when they were looking for traditional birth attendants to be trained," said Tettenyumu after ungergoing a 3-month intensive training course organised by Plan on how to conduct safe deliveries, conventional contraceptive methods, sexual and reproductive health.
Tettenyumu now also educates the mothers and women on issues like personal hygiene, first-aid, childcare, and the use of contraceptives.
"Before the training we never carried a childbirth kit with us, nor did we realise the importance of washing our hands while helping a mother to deliver. After all, the old family traditional birth attendants never did. I did not have any information on reproductive health, like antenatal or post-natal care, breastfeeding, hygiene issues or vaccination. A child was considered a blessing," said Tettenyumu.
"Over the years maternal morbidity has reduced remarkably in Plan's programme areas while child nutrition has also improved. Traditional birth attendants are delivering more babies than before and their role has developed," said Monica Effinah, senior nurse in the Bawajiase area.
 |
| Postnatal care is an important part of the traditional birth attendant role |
| The role of traditional birth attendants Traditional birth attendants are a fundamental part of the birth a new baby in many developing countries. In Guatemala, for example, they are called 'comadronas' and in Afghanistan 'dai', but whatever they are called, they have provided the only healthcare services available to mothers and their children in many remote and rural areas. They are usually self-taught or informally trained or have observed and assisted others like Tettenuymu.
They not only assist mothers before and during birth, they also speak regional and local languages and dialects and provide emotional support, advice and practical help in cleaning, cooking and caring for the households of pregnant women and new mothers. They work hard to gain the confidence of the families assisted and most of the time travel for miles to reach patients in need.
They can help families understand how to recognise danger signs during pregnancy and where to go for assistance. They can also help to dispel false information on harmful practices such as female genital mutilation.
| 
