Incorporating the traditional birth attendant into the health team: the Malaysian example

Domiciliary deliveries have always been the responsibility of traditional birth attendants. Since Independence, acquired in 1957, educated young women have been trained as auxiliary midwives and sent to serve in rural communities where they usually are met with resistance by the established traditional birth attendants. To counter this and to incorporate the traditional birth attendants into the health team, new roles were developed for each so that the two would be able to cooperate and support each other rather than rival and antagonise each other. A specific experience in one area of Malaysia is examined as an example.