‘Since It’s a Pleasure to Save Somebody’s Life, I Do This’

Abstract

Health development efforts to decrease maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in South Asia have included a role for trained and/or traditional birth attendants since the late 20th century. Birth attendants are typically older women, who assist not only during birth but who also can provide counsel during pregnancy and lactation. Based on an ethnographic case study, focused on a jhuggi-jhopri (squatter) settlement in New Delhi, this chapter differentiates between two types of birth attendants. Traditional birth attendants are women who have learned their skills and knowledge, typically from elder women relatives, through apprenticeship. Their tools of practice include herbal knowledge as well as ‘modern’ medical kits they may have received through health education efforts (for example, scissors to cut the umbilical cord). In contrast, trained birth attendants are older women who were recruited through local health organizations (both governmental and non-governmental) and trained by biomedical practitioners to provide frontline care. This chapter examines both traditional and trained birth attendants’ perspectives on assisting local mothers, examining how local mothers view traditional versus trained birth attendants and, in turn, how this may affect their birth experiences