A qualitative study of conceptions and attitudes regarding maternal mortality among traditional birth attendants in rural Guatemala.
Författare
Summary, in English
OBJECTIVE: To explore conceptions of obstetric emergency care among traditional birth attendants in rural Guatemala, elucidating social and cultural factors. STUDY: design Qualitative in-depth interview study. SETTING: Rural Guatemala. SAMPLE: Thirteen traditional birth attendants from 11 villages around San Miguel Ixtahuacán, Guatemala. METHOD: Interviews with semi-structured, thematic, open-ended questions. Interview topics were: traditional birth attendants' experiences and conceptions as to the causes of complications, attitudes towards hospital care and referral of obstetric complications. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Conceptions of obstetric complications, hospital referrals and maternal mortality among traditional birth attendants. RESULTS: Pregnant women rather than traditional birth attendants appear to make the decision on how to handle a complication, based on moralistically and fatalistically influenced thoughts about the nature of complications, in combination with a fear of caesarean section, maltreatment and discrimination at a hospital level. There is a discrepancy between what traditional birth attendants consider appropriate in cases of complications, and the actions they implement to handle them. CONCLUSION: Parameters in the referral system, such as logistics and socio-economic factors, are sometimes subordinated to cultural values by the target group. To have an impact on maternal mortality, bilateral culture-sensitive education should be included in maternal health programs.
Avdelning/ar
Publiceringsår
2004
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
1372-1377
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Volym
111
Issue
12
Fulltext
- Available as PDF - 66 kB
- Download statistics
Länkar
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
Wiley-Blackwell
Ämne
- Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine
Status
Published
Forskningsgrupp
- Social Medicine and Global Health
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 1471-0528