Traditional Midwifery

Abstract

Various estimates have put the number of institutional deliveries in developing countries at 20 to 25 per cent of the total number of births. A vast number of children are delivered in the traditional way. The number will, of course, vary from one country to another depending upon the state of development of the health services and the socioeconomic level of the people; in the same country there may be variations from one region to another and between urban and rural areas. In many countries there are already indications of increasing demands for Western type of medicine and with this the pattern of midwifery will inevitably change.