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Learning about birth in Sri Lanka

I’ve learned about birth in Sri Lanka today. One of this group (in Hemel Hempstead) has extended a holiday in Britain so she could attend this program and it has given us all a chance to find out about birth in her country.

Sri Lanka was a British colony (Ceylon) for many years and their culture still contains echos of this background. Their maternity services are based on the English system and the obstetricians have their education primarily in the UK, rather than the US. There is a flourishing private obstetric system, especially in the cities, well supported by Sri Lankan women, who are highly literate. In rural areas, as part of the public system, midwives supervise traditional birth attendants, and many women give birth at home. Conditions are often far from ideal, and efforts are bing made to provide alternative services based in clinics and hospitals.

This is what I have discovered so far - I hope to learn more tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I have been able to catch up with Jenni Farrell, an Australian midwife, now living in Hemel Hempsted with her family. I had met Jenni some years ago when she was working in Toowoomba, Queensland, so it was good to hear about her experiences in Britain. She also talked about the cultural differences, in this case between birth and maternity care in Australia and the situation she discovered in Britain. Anyone who moves from one country and works in another will find there are many differences in the ways things are done and it takes time to adjust and adapt.

Australians have tended to regard Britain as a bastion of great midwifery, leaders and innovators, and staunch protectors of the midwifery model of care. I have often found the reality somewhat different. It seems that Jenni has had some similar experiences, although working now in the Hemel Birth Centre has at last given her the opportunity to practice the midwifery she expected.

More on the Hemel Birth Centre tomorrow as well.

Posted by andrea at June 13, 2004 04:52 AM

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