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A small peep into birth in Uganda

This weekend I have been working with a group in London. As often happens, this central location attracts people from everywhere, and this group was no exception - we had many hospitals represented. One childbirth educator had travelled from Uganda, on her way home to Seattle in the US for a holiday.

She had been working as an educator in Uganda for 11 years, staying on after her first visit to assist in an immunisation program. She had some very interesting stories to tell about Uganda, where the epidural rate is zero (except for Caesareans). Women labour without drugs on the whole (pethidine is sometimes offered) and are encouraged to drink warm sweet black tea during labour.

This raised some amused reactions from the others in the group, especially those where restrictions on food and drink in labour are still rigidly enforced. As in most developing countries, women labour in communal labour rooms, where privacy is hard to come by and packing safety pins to keep the scanty curtains closed is a must. This educator was surprised to learn that all women in Britain, for example, can expect to have their own room for labour and birth. Many of the ideas we discussed about ensuring that women get the privacy they need to labour comfortably would be hard to implement in places like Uganda, but then again, they are not used to it and may in fact gain comfort from having other women nearby. I have even heard of women egging each other on, when labouring in small groups like this. Unthinkable in Britain!

My next stop is in Ormskirk, near Liverpool, where I will be presenting a paper at a Conference for student midwives. This will be fun - it is always a pleasure to be amongst the bright-eyed and bushy- tailed student group, eager to change the world of midwifery.

Posted by andrea at June 21, 2005 07:03 PM