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Childbirth education in Uganda

Many of you will have been following the adventures of Jill Moloney, the Australian midwife who works in developing countries where she spreads the word about physiological birth. Recently we sent her some teaching aids for use in the midwifery training in northern Uganda. Jill has sent me some pictures - I am glad the doll is one of our black models! It is going to be loved to pieces!

Here are some extracts from her email, and also her description of the photos:

G'day Andrea and Staff of Birth International,

I just wanted to thank you for the charts you included in the shipment of fetal doll and pelvis sets you sent to us in Uganda in December 2006. We finally received them here in Kalongo (in the North of the country) at the end of last week and they are already a huge hit in our location. I had one brown doll in my bag as I was walking through the town on Friday and took it out when I met a staff member who I thought would be interested in seeing it. She was delighted and couldn't believe the likeness to a newborn baby. When she finished inspecting it, I turned to go on my way, only to find that there was a huge crowd of people behind me, all eager to inspect the doll for themselves. S/he was passed from elders to grown men and women, teenagers and young children and they all were smiling and wishing for one of their own!!

I have my initial sessions with the staff of the midwifery school and regional hospital on Friday 2nd March and have delivered two doll and pelvis sets and the charts you sent to the midwifery school today. The head teacher and two other tutors were there and they were excited and absolutely thrilled with the quality. They are looking forward to our up-coming sessions about normal physiology of labour and making their services more woman-friendly.

These two men who wanted to see the fetal doll and they played with it for some time. They are sitting in the corner of a restaurant and yelled out to me as I walked past with “Africane” (pronounced Africarn) as the doll has been Christened!

This photo is of Florence, one of our recent recruits in the Public Health Programme. She assists Josephine, our midwife and Traditional Birth Attendant Supervisor, and she is pictured with a TBA who attended a workshop about supporting normal physiology in labour. This part of the workshop was about supporting women in a position of comfort and she demonstrates supporting a squatting position when the mother is pushing, but from a standing start.

Here is Josephine supervising TBAs in the workshop they are “practising” their old skills of supporting women to give birth in a squatting or kneeling position.

Josephine is teaching TBAs about the mobility of the pelvis (lesson taken from your “Empowering Women”book). I am in the photo and have my back to most of the TBAs as I have trousers on and it made it easier for them to see where to place their hands during this exercise.

This photo is taken further into the pelvic mobility part of the workshop where the TBAs are feeling the movement of the ischial tuberosities.

Posted by andrea at March 11, 2007 01:42 PM