Cultural Resources and Maternal Health in Mali
In spite of the cultural, traditional taboo on the subject of pregnancy in most African households, the success of the Africare's Child Survival Project in Mali, documents the increased communication, and behavior changes in health seeking dur...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/1999/09/1671248/cultural-resources-maternal-health-mali http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10826 |
| Summary: | In spite of the cultural, traditional
taboo on the subject of pregnancy in most African
households, the success of the Africare's Child
Survival Project in Mali, documents the increased
communication, and behavior changes in health seeking during
pregnancy. Africare is a US-based private, voluntary
organization, working in community development, and through
its efforts, constructed a maternity ward in the country,
supported by government health professionals. The note
describes the research work underwent by Africare to
identify both resources, and obstacles related to to
improved maternal health, and care-seeking. Findings
revealed that both women, and men were well aware of the
risks associated with pregnancy, enhanced by cultural traits
which places a strong value on supportive husbands during
pregnancy. However, one of the most striking cultural
obstacles to women's maternal health care, was the
absence of discussions on the subject, due entirely to the
taboo issue about sexual relations, and pregnancy. Following
a pilot maternal health campaign - based on cultural,
traditional channels in identifying maternal, and pregnancy
issues - the impact of the project was evaluated,
demonstrating those channels used to communicate, can be
effectively innovated to adapt them to modern needs. |
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