Population Council Research that makes a difference

Pakistan has a high maternal mortality rate, estimated at approximately 350–500 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. This translates into about 30,000 maternal deaths each year, or one maternal death every 20 minutes. Reducing maternal mortality is one of the major objectives of the Government of Pakistan and is one of the Millennium Development Goals to which the Pakistan is a signatory. Most maternal deaths occur in rural areas and urban slums and are attributed to nonavailability of trained staff and delays in making the decision to seek emergency care and transporting the mother to proper emergency care.

Dais (traditional birth attendants) perform most deliveries in Pakistan and will probably continue to do so for a long time. Ultimately, a new cadre of trained community midwives is expected, but it may take some time for them to gain community acceptance.

This project was undertaken with the aim of conducting training of trainers for lady health visitors in the districts of Abbottabad, Batagram, and Mansehra. The training program focused on the client-centered approach whereby master trainers provided practical oriented participatory and experiential based training.