Old skills and new knowledge: midwifery in contemporary Zimbabwe

Sixty-one traditional birth attendants residing in the southern sector of Zimbabwe were interviewed concerning their midwifery practice. Traditional midwives were interviewed individually to gather information concerning: (a) the development of traditional midwifery skills, (b) the nature of traditional birthing patterns, (c) the features of the one-week midwifery training program provided to upgrade traditional midwives, and (d) traditional midwifery as practiced today, post the one-week training program. In describing past and present traditional midwifery, they reported a change in the use of sanitation practices, a heightened understanding of at-risk pregnancies and the need for formal medical intervention, and the adoption of mechanisms to record new births.