Sun 27 Apr, 2008

In the spring of 2008 CDP ran their first Birth and Life Saving Skills course (BLiSS course) for women.

Using adult education techniques, groups of participants are encouraged to speak about their birthing traditions and ideas. They show a great dependence on faith, the supernatural and home-based remedies. However there is a growing reliance on the local clinic. The aim was to give worth to women’s ideas (and therefore to women) by listening, teaching and then together trying to find best practice by combining healthy traditional beliefs with healthy midwifery skills. This is a story of one of the women whose life has been changed because of the course.

Zulaikha was married about 10 years ago, aged 15 and soon after had a daughter, but following that she had several pregnancies that ended with stillborn babies. She was pregnant yet again when she heard that a BLiSS course was starting in the village, to help women improve the chances of their babies and themselves surviving pregnancy. Understandably, she was really interested and made sure she could come to the course. (note: although the numbers were initially set at 15 there was so much demand that 24 women were eventually allowed to attend and we plan to run the course at least once in this village again as well as in neighbouring villages). Because of knowledge gained on the course, she and her neighbours decided she was maybe physically unable to give birth to live children and took her to the local clinic to see the midwife who confirmed that it was the likely cause of her problems. When she started going into labour her family agreed that she should be taken to the provincial hospital immediately (about 2 hours by car or 6-8 hours by donkey), which she was, and her son was delivered by caesarean section. Without the level of awareness among her neighbours and family being raised through the BLiSS course and the conversations after it, this would not have happened. Zulaikha is one of several women who have been helped or saved from death by their community since the course took place.