Supporting mothers and birthing attendants in Vietnam


May 26, 2016

Hands-on instruction for traditional birth attendants. Photo: CWS

Hands-on instruction for traditional birth attendants. Photo: CWS

In the remote communities of northern Vietnam, where many ethnic minorities live, most babies are born at home. Pregnant women go to distant clinics for pre- or post-natal checkups, but they are hesitant around health care workers – no matter how qualified or well-intentioned they are – who often do not speak their language. The combination of clinic inaccessibility and customary beliefs mean that traditional birth attendants or relatives oversee most births in Muong Te district.

CWS partners with communities to provide training to clinic health workers, who will follow up with training for birth attendants and the women of the communities. These training sessions include refresher courses and updated information on best practices, particularly information around nutrition for expecting and new mothers, hygiene, breastfeeding and basic baby healthcare. Those trained directly by CWS will pass along their knowledge and skills to others in their communities.

More than 100 women from four villages joined a recent awareness-raising training for safe birthing. After the initial training, the traditional birth attendants who were in attendance practiced mobilizing for prenatal care, safe delivery, breastfeeding and other aspects of safe motherhood, which, unfortunately, are not guaranteed in the communities where CWS works in northern Vietnam.