Win as traditional midwife switches to conventional maternal care

For a decade, Ms Maria Nkisuya has worked as a traditional midwife in her Naiperere Rongai village in Laikipia North sub-county, helping many women deliver in their manyattas.

There was a big demand for her services from expectant women who initially shunned the advice to seek the services of birth attendants in hospitals.

The 45-year-old woman would traverse the entire village to attend to numerous patients whose delivery time was due.

She would also render her unskilled services whenever there were emergency cases.

“I used to assist women to deliver inside their manyattas. But sometimes, it would turn tragic whenever my patients experienced excessive bleeding. In some instances, this would lead to deaths,” Ms Nkisuya recounts.

But six years ago, Ms Nkisuya made a turnaround and resolved to abandon traditional midwifery.

This was after she started losing expectant women and their newborns during deliveries.

“I just woke up one day and decided to let go of the practice. This caught many of the villagers by surprise but, as far as I’m concerned, it was the best step that I have ever made.”

Ms Nkisuya is among hundreds of traditional birth attendants who have now switched from practising traditional midwifery to modern medicine.

On Tuesday, she received seven goats from the Laikipia County government as a token for assisting women to undergo full antenatal care and acquiring skilled delivery in the healthcare facilities.  

Ms Nkisuya has been honoured by the devolved unit for persuading women from her community to deliver safely at both the Ewaso and Kimanjo healthcare facilities.

“Women in the community have now started seeing the benefits of seeking skilled care whenever they are pregnant,” she says at the Laikipia Health Service Ewaso health facility.

“I was actively involved in making follow-ups to ensure that they attend the antenatal clinics as well as accompanying them during their deliveries.”

Despite living in an area with poor roads and roaming wild animals, the woman used motorbikes to ensure that mothers underwent their full birth terms.

But in early December last year, Ms Nkisuya received seven goats from the county government for similar efforts in improving maternal health.

“I was privileged to be honoured with seven goats last year and each of the goats gave birth to twins. I did not own a goat before and I can attest that there are blessings in assisting a fellow woman to give birth.”

The 'goat for delivery' is a programme rolled out by Laikipia County First Lady Maria Mbeneka and it is an incentive meant to tap more TBAs as partners in the fight against maternal deaths.

Ms Mbeneka says the programme, rolled out in partnership with the Laikipia Health Service (formerly Laikipia Department of Health), is meant to unchain the community from the cultural practices that encourage women to seek services of traditional birth attendants.

“When I started this project, I didn’t expect that it would be received positively, because we are experiencing an increase in women who are delivering safely in our medical facilities,” Ms Mbeneka says.

“This programme involves women and elders in the community through thorough sensitisation at the grassroots. The percentage of women receiving antenatal care has increased from 42 percent to 64 percent.”

She issued 70 goats to 50 women at the Kimanjo and Ewaso health facilities.

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