Midwifery in Northern Belize

Abstract

During several volunteer experiences in the Corozal District in Northern Belize, the authors worked with and interviewed traditional midwives, midwife educators, administrators, and professional midwives, who practice in public health clinics, rural health outposts, and a government hospital. One interview with a traditional midwife from a rural Mayan village, garnered interesting information about her 63-year practice, which is compared with the practice of professional midwives. Issues important to midwifery and health care in Belize are discussed. The interviews and the authors' own experiences reveal changing birthing practices, as well as the continued importance of midwives in the care of childbearing women in Northern Belize.

Women’s Health in Central America: The Complexity of Issues and the Need to Focus on Indigenous Healthcare

“…According to the World Health Organization, the basic literacy rate is high (Fig. 5), [46] and 33% of Belizeans were considered poor (unable to meet expenses for basic food and supplies) [47]. The reported total fertility rate is three children born/woman [2] and the maternal mortality rate is 62.3 per 100,000 live births (Fig.…”

“…Like other countries in CA indigenous women are at higher risk for morbidity and mortality due to poor access to clinics and hospitals, and practicing physicians. Midwives are available but high-risk deliveries must be transported out of district to facilities that can mange these deliveries [47]. Despite these limitations, emergency transfers from the Toledo District (highest indigenous population) are rare, and most pregnant women deliver at home without medically trained assistance [47].…”

“…Midwives are available but high-risk deliveries must be transported out of district to facilities that can mange these deliveries [47]. Despite these limitations, emergency transfers from the Toledo District (highest indigenous population) are rare, and most pregnant women deliver at home without medically trained assistance [47]. Since 1957, traditional birth attendants (TBAs)have been trained in Belize by the Ministry of Health (MOH).…”

“…The World Health Organization asserted that the training of TBAs was a good means to reducing maternal mortality rates in poor, developing countries, where childbirth outside of medical facilities is common practice. The TBAs were trained under a standardized program that included recognition of biomedically-defined risk factors and referrals for high-risk pregnancies [47]. In 1999, the government of Belize discouraged the training of midwives, and as a consequence, fewer and fewer practicing T.B.A.s are available to assist labor and delivery in the remote villages where the majority of indigenous women live.…”

Midwifery Qualification in Selected Countries: A Rapid Review

“…The majority of the included information was from midwifery governing body web pages (n = 11) [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] and law documents (n = 11) [38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48] followed by midwifery assessment reports (n = 10) [49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58] and midwifery association web pages (n = 8) [59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66]. The rest of the documents were from published articles (n = 7) [67][68][69][70][71][72][73], government web pages (n = 7) [74][75][76]…”