Improving traditional child birth practices

Improving child delivery practices

Description

Improving traditional childbirth practices involves integrating evidence-based medical knowledge with culturally respected methods to enhance maternal and neonatal outcomes. This strategy focuses on training birth attendants, promoting hygienic delivery environments, and ensuring access to emergency care while respecting local customs. By addressing harmful practices and encouraging beneficial ones, it reduces preventable complications, increases community trust in healthcare, and bridges gaps between traditional and modern systems, ultimately safeguarding the health of mothers and infants.

Claim

Contraception should be encouraged as a means of promoting the health of women and children rather than as a means of achieving demographic goals. Governments should eliminate through educational and legislative measures and the creation of monitoring mechanisms, all forms of harmful traditional childbirth practices. Governments should expand and improve health services and introduce training programmes for traditional birth attendants to upgrade their positive traditional skills, as well as to give them new skills on a priority basis. Research and documentation is essential to assess the harmful effects of certain traditional birth related practices and to identify and continue some positive traditions like breast-feeding.