Analysis of Abdominal Massage Practice Performed by Traditional Birth Attendants in Mamba Community Health Center, East Nusa Tenggara

Abstract

Background: People in East Manggarai have a strong belief in traditional birth attendants in assisting delivery. It affects the selection of birth attendants. The strong belief in the people of East Manggarai to date is the practice of “Abdominal Massage” during pregnancy and birth delivery. This study aimed to get information about the abdo­minal massage practice performed by tra­ditional birth attendants in Mamba Com­mu­nity Health Center, East Nusa Tenggara. Subjects and Method: This study was a quali­ta­tive analytical study using a phenomenological study approach in Mamba Community Health Center. The informants of this study were tra­di­tional healers, pregnant women who were going to give birth to traditional birth attendants and women who gave birth who had been helped by traditional birth attendants, head of community health center, public figures, and village mid­wi­ves. This study used the purposive sampling tech­ni­que. This study used in-depth interviews with non-participant observation to collect the data. Results: "Abdominal massage" technique to date was still performed by the people in East Mang­garai, especially pregnant women and wo­men who would give birth. This "Abdominal Massage" technique aimed to know and adjust the fetus position. Besides, the mother would feel strong, the baby would be healthy, the maternal body could move easily, and made the process of lowering the fetal head faster. The ingredients used for "abdominal massage" were easy to find. The minimum problems when per­­­forming “abdominal massage” with no “abd­ominal massage” costs made the practice still used by mothers. Conclusion: The practice of “abdominal massage” is medically dangerous for the mother and the fetus if it is carried out by non-pro­fessionals, such as traditional birth attendants. Keywords: abdominal massage, traditional birth attendant, birth attendant Correspondence: Maria Sriana Banul, Diploma of Midwifery, Indo­nesia Catholic University of Saint Paul Ruteng, East Nusa Tenggara. Email: maria­sri­a­na­@­­g­m­ail­.­com. Mobile: 082311378633. Journal of Maternal and Child Health (2020), 05(06): 715-724 https://doi.org/10.26911/thejmch.2020.05.06.11.