Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) are women who help expectant mothers with antenatal care and deliveries in the villages. Due to the rise of maternal and child mortality rates, the government of Uganda banned the practice of the TBAs in 2010.
This story focuses on 81-year-old Masa a Traditional Birth Attendant who has helped many women give births for more than 22 years. Masa lives in Bududa district on the slopes of Mt. Elgon in Eastern Uganda. Being a mountainous area, access to hospitals has always been a huge challenge for the women. However, many of these problems were solved by the establishment of a new NGO set up hospital in Bushiika sub-county, in Bududa district. The hospital has created relationships with the TBAs and is encouraging these traditional midwives to advise, educate and bring their patients to the health facility for better maternal services. Masa is one of the few TBAs who are now referring their patients to the health facility.