Training of traditional birth attendants: success and failure in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, training of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) began in 1978. Since then, the government has prepared over 44000 TBAs. A few thousands more have received instruction through the efforts of various non-governmental organizations in the country. The objective of TBA training is primarily to change their practices of conducting deliveries. They are taught cleanliness so that maternal and infant mortality, which is significantly high among South and South East Asian nations, may be checked. The writer has herself learned from graduates of the course that they have received sufficient guidance and direction towards performing safe deliveries, a concept totally lacking until that experience. TBAs are thereby in a position to contend with the prevailing socioeconomic and cultural beliefs of the country's rural masses, and to cope with their problems.