Training on safe delivery

Kenya’s Pokot people have evolved a range of traditions related to maternal and child health all of which are intended to optimize the community’s survival. While many of these customs succeed in enhancing health and welfare, others actually contribute to mobility and mortality. A pregnant Pokot woman is regarded as vulnerable to diseases and witchcraft, so there are numerous dietary taboos that can contribute to a high incidence of low birth weight. At least one experienced midwife resides in each neighborhood. Most complications of labor are viewed as a reflection of something the mother has done e.g. adultery, so there is little intervention. This common myth has led to the death of many Pokot women as the mothers are left at the mercy of Good Samaritan, so there is always little intervention. Another thing, even though the midwives are considered to be of great asset to the community and experienced to deal with the high rate of child birth, still there is a high rate of infant mortality in Pokot. It is mainly because significant numbers of these women (midwives) do not have the extra skills to deal with unforeseen circumstances. The work of midwives cannot be underestimated and it will be foolish to do away with them, however more empowerment and training is needed to reduce or control the high number of infant deaths. Many of these women and infant children die in the hands of the midwives because the practitioners lack the necessary skills to avert or prevent the crisis. Attempts should always be made work more closely with the traditional midwives, enabling them to develop their already considerable skill, and to implement method of screening and referring mothers who are likely to have high risk pregnancies. The service of the traditional midwives is important because Pokot County has few accessible hospitals and health centers, mainly because of the lack proper development infrastructure. There are no good roads in Pokot and especially in areas where WMK is concentrating its efforts eg Nyangaita, Kamanau, Kakleshon etc The rocks, hills and valleys even make it harder for the pregnant Pokot woman to survive the journey or safely give birth in case she is driven in a car or ambulance .WMK, through the help its partners aims to educate and empower the traditional birth attendants with skills and knowledge to reduce the cases of infant or maternal death. Thanks to our past efforts of building relationships with the community and with the government representatives, we hope to continue with our effort of working closely with the women. WMK will closely work with other NGOs in the field of health to help implement the programme.