Traditional midwives and family planning in Asia
Rogers, E.M.; Solomon, D.S.
Studies in Family Planning 6(5): 126-133
1975
ISSN/ISBN: 0039-3665 PMID: 1145693 DOI: 10.2307/1964747Document Number: 514090
Traditional midwives are found in almost every village and in many urban neighborhoods in the developing world, delivering the majority of births in these areas. Several Asian nations have begun to recognize the potential contribution of traditional midwives to modern family planning and health programs. A total of about 17,000 traditional midwives have been trained as family planning recruiters in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Because traditional midwives deliver a large number of births in Asian nations, the potential is great for them to reach large numbers of women regarding family planning -- particularly poor, illiterate women. There is much to be learned from the traditional health system and governmental health and family planning programs should join hands with these older systems.