Midwife helps deliver over 100 births

See, 40, has been a midwife, aside from being a farmer, all her life. She learned from her mother who was also a village midwife. Through the years, See has helped deliver over 100 births. She takes pride in the fact that most of the children in the village got delivered with her assistance.

See lives in Vangkhoukham village, located on the side of Sesamsoiy River with a population of 995 people in 130 families. It is far from Xonnabouly town - around 23 km. The usual sources of income for the villagers are working in the farm, which earn hardly enough for food.

There is only one primary school, from grade1 to grade 5. They have no pharmacy in the village. They have only two midwives and the hospital is very far from the village.

Before World Vision came in year 2002, See has been a local midwife for 10 years, aside from being a farmer. “I never learned from school and from anybody. I learned by myself. I helped more than 100 pregnant women give birth on my own”, said See. Her mother was also a midwife before she died, but See said she never learned from her.

“I never used any equipment, even hand gloves. We do not use any medicines”, See recalls the process she used before she got trained. Often, the delivery would take a long time, with See taking an overnight vigil waiting for the baby to come out. “It was hard work. But what else can I do. The village is far from the hospital and more often, the villagers have no money”, she says.

When she got trained by World Vision on proper child birth and attendants training, she realized she can further improve her skills. See said, “I found out we were using unsanitary materials like sharpened bamboo sticks to cut the baby’s umbilical cord”. She also learned the importance of hygiene and cleanliness when working on child birth and how it can endanger the baby’s and mother’s life.

 Phone, a 19-year old pregnant mother is happy there are trained midwives in her village. “The hospital is very far and roads are difficult especially during the rainy season. I am not scared when a trained midwife is around. They make me feel stronger and more confident.

Trained on proper and sanitary methods, the women in the village began helping each other. One or two stay to help the midwife in the delivery and ensure that the work is done properly.

Traditionally, midwives are not paid with money. The family gives a gift after the delivery – either a Lao skirt or a blouse that could cost around Lao Kip (LAK) 35,000 (US$4). But what is required as this is believed to bring good health to the midwife is - when the mother gets stronger - she must bring clean water to the midwife for her to take a bath on. This is still being practiced until now.

See says, “I am happy that I still could help them in the village. The training could help them take care of themselves when I am gone.”