Traditional Midwives
Abstract
Developing nations are plagued by high maternal mortality rates, unwanted pregnancies, and family planning policies that aim to control population growth through sterilization and unsafe birth control drugs. In such harsh settings, traditional midwives are important and effective agents of women 's wellness and family planning policy. This essay will evaluate the community roles of professional versus traditional midwives in rural Asia, including discussion regarding the meager respect afforded traditional midwives by physicians and clinic staff without acknowledging the work they accomplish with such limited resources. Analysis of the results of midwife training programs will compare government-sponsored programs ' curricula to outreach education by colleagues from the international community, showing that these professional midwives provide methods for integrating traditional midwives into professional (hospital) circles as well as offering more realistic approaches to midwives in indigenous communities in the face of Western biomedicine 's influx into government policy. Data will also be presented that suggests that maternal mortality rates are reduced as a result of pre- and post-partum care from midwives, and that education and home visits by midwives helps advance women 's status by increasing their ability to regulate their fertility.
Professional versus Traditional Midwives
The international definition of midwife ratified by the World Health Organization (WHO) describes an individual who has completed a duly recognized program of study and is registered or legally licensed to practice midwifery in their country (WHO, 2000). This differs from most cultural definitions of a midwife. More often, midwives are any woman experienced in birth and recognized by her community to be a midwife. WHO calls these women Traditional Birthing Assistants (TBAs), and considers them care providers who fall outside the formal sector of skilled birth
Developing nations are plagued by high maternal mortality rates, unwanted pregnancies, and family planning policies that aim to control population growth through sterilization and unsafe birth control drugs. In such harsh settings, traditional midwives are important and effective agents of women 's wellness and family planning policy. This essay will evaluate the community roles of professional versus traditional midwives in rural Asia, including discussion regarding the meager respect afforded traditional midwives by physicians and clinic staff without acknowledging the work they accomplish with such limited resources. Analysis of the results of midwife training programs will compare government-sponsored programs ' curricula to outreach education by colleagues from the international community, showing that these professional midwives provide methods for integrating traditional midwives into professional (hospital) circles as well as offering more realistic approaches to midwives in indigenous communities in the face of Western biomedicine 's influx into government policy. Data will also be presented that suggests that maternal mortality rates are reduced as a result of pre- and post-partum care from midwives, and that education and home visits by midwives helps advance women 's status by increasing their ability to regulate their fertility.
Professional versus Traditional Midwives
The international definition of midwife ratified by the World Health Organization (WHO) describes an individual who has completed a duly recognized program of study and is registered or legally licensed to practice midwifery in their country (WHO, 2000). This differs from most cultural definitions of a midwife. More often, midwives are any woman experienced in birth and recognized by her community to be a midwife. WHO calls these women Traditional Birthing Assistants (TBAs), and considers them care providers who fall outside the formal sector of skilled birth
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