The missing midwife: why a training program failed
Brey, K.H.
South Asian Review 5(1): 41-52
1971
ISSN/ISBN: 0038-2841 PMID: 12309312 Document Number: 512948
The government of India's program to train indigenous dais (midwives) initiated in 1956 has met with little apparent success in terms of recruiting midwives for training and training effectively those who have been rrecruited. The program was given low priority by many of the states and rejected by others. 4 reasons identified as responsible for the lack of success were the following: 1) village level training failed in practice; 2) allowances were not paid promptly; 3) the midwifery kit was often not supplied; and 4) there was no continued inducement to midwives to keep in touch with the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) personnel after training. A revised program launched in autumn of 1967 worked to correct these deficiencies. This revitalized program enlisted the interest and began the involvement of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Despite hopes of the ministry that the revised program would be more attractive to the states and the midwives, the program failed to produce more recruits. In 1969 the following reasons were identified as responsible for the unproductive dai training program: 1) no single group of women can be identified as indigenous dais in the village or urban areas; 2) there is a lack of adequately prepared auxiliary nurse midwives to act as trainers; 3) there is a lack of vehicles to transport trainers; and 4) the dais feel that the payment of Rs. 1 per day is insufficient.