Maternity services and the role of the traditional birth attendant, bidan kampung, in rural Malaysia

Abstract

This study was undertaken to explore the roles played by bidan kampungs and understand their contribution to rural Malay women during pregnancy and childbirth hundred sixteen pregnant women, 13 Western midwives, and 12 bidan kampungs were recruited using convenience and snowball sampling. Data were collected from focus groups, in-depth interviews, field notes, and observations. The findings indicated that although the women were happy to have Western maternity care, they valued the social and spiritual support received from bidan kampungs during pregnancy and postnatal care. Western care was considered useful for "modern" illnesses. The traditional maternity care that women received included pantang or ritual prohibitions that helped them through pregnancy and helped them achieve better postnatal recovery. The study indicates that there is a need to combine Western and traditional care for the benefit of the pregnant women and their infants' health.