Traditional birth attendants and HIV/AIDS in South Africa: a trainer's manual

Traditional birth attendants have the potential for improving maternal and newborn health at community level. The role of Traditional birth attendants in caring for pregnant women and conducting deliveries is acknowledged, but generally TBAs are not trained to deal with complications. A paradigm shift from the risk approach to focus on emergency obstetric care (every pregnancy carries a risk) has occurred since 1997. The reason behind this shift is that most complications often occur in women with no ANC risk factors during labour and delivery. It is therefore essential for women to be cared for by skilled health workers if maternal mortality is to be reduced.