Learning from low income countries: Investing in traditional birth attendants may help reduce mortality in poor countries

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7489.478-c

BMJ 2005;330:478-479 (26 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7489.478-c

Letter

Learning from low income countries

Investing in traditional birth attendants may help reduce mortality in poor countries

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Costello et al addressed important issues for poorcountries to achieve the millennium development goals.¹ We sharetheir view that community based interventions are crucial toreduce maternal and child mortality by 50% in 2015. In Yemen,the only country with low income and high mortality in the Arabianpeninsula, all rural births are home deliveries attended bytraditional attendants.

Maternal mortality for Yemen has been estimated at 850/100 000births.² I recently reported that perinatal characteristics(low birth weight, breech presentation, obstructed labour, andabnormal intrapartum bleeding) in a community health surveyand the main walk-in maternal and children hospital in Sana'acity were comparable.³ A 12 year, hospital based study showedthat perinatal mortality remained unchanged at 95/1000 birthsand is probably lower than that in the community.⁴ In 2003,596 newborn infants who were delivered at home needed specialcare at this hospital, and 140 . . . [Full text of this article]

Salem Banajeh, associate professor

Department of Child Health, Sana'a University, PO Box 2257, Sana'a, Yemen sbanaj@yemen.net.ye

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