Referrals by traditional birth attendants in northeast Brazil

B. Janowitz, S. Wallace, G. Araujo and L. Araujo

American Journal of Public Health, 1985, vol. 75, issue 7, 745-748

Abstract: Between October 1980 and July 1981, 1,878 women were attended by traditional birth attendants (TBAs) at four obstetric units in rural areas surrounding the city of Fortaleza in northeast Brazil. Of these women, 232 (12.4%) were referred to a hospital in Fortaleza for delivery. The most important indicators for referral to hospital were: presence of an antenatal problem, complication of labor, or malpresentation. Based on record review, 65 referred women with none of these conditions were classified as low risk and 42 women not referred were classified as high risk (at least one such condition present). Of 1,878 deliveries, 32 (17 per 1,000) terminated as fetal deaths, and 12 infants died before discharge from hospital or obstetric unit (6 per 1,000). The death rate was much higher for the high-risk cases (156 per 1,000 referrals, 95 for nonreferrals). Although some women may have been inappropriately referred while others who should have been were not referred, the system of referral has allowed TBAs to attend uncomplicated deliveries and to refer women with complications.

Date: 1985
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1985:75:7:745-748_5

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().