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Pregnancy, childbirth, mother and child care among the indigenous people of Zimbabwe
Author(s) -
Mutambirwa Jane
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/0020-7292(85)90021-9
Subject(s) - childbirth , pregnancy , indigenous , context (archaeology) , medicine , nursing , obstetrics , family medicine , geography , ecology , genetics , archaeology , biology
Even in areas of Zimbabwe with easy access to Western‐type delivery care, the majority of women are cared for and delivered by traditional birth attendants who are members of their extended family. To understand the social, cultural context of pregnancy, childbirth and subsequent maternal and child care and to use this information for the improvement of maternal and child‐health care an anthropoligical investigation was conducted in an area near Harare, Zimbabwe from June 1983 to the end of 1984. Certain aspects of childbirth such as primagravida deliveries and the origins of peripartum complications, are intimately linked to the religious beliefs and values; other aspects such as the relationship of nutrition and pregnancy are not so linked. An understanding of the traditional concepts of pregnancy, delivery and child care is invaluable if not essential for the upgrading of pregnancy and delivery care, the elimination of harmful practices and the building of supportive links between the traditional and the formal health system.