DHAKA, Bangladesh, March 17 (UPI) -- Members of the first group of midwives being trained in Bangladesh say cultural factors keeping men out of the delivery room must change.
Despite the absence of any law forbidding men to enter the delivery room, Bangladeshi fathers are normally not present during the birth of their own child, a situation that must change, the midwives say.
"Men need to be involved in the labor process if we are to reduce maternal mortality," said Mala Reberio, one of the 20 midwives being trained to international standards in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
The country is still heavily reliant on community birth attendants, who lack the skill and the authority to perform more complicated deliveries, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported Thursday.
"If [men] could see firsthand the complications of childbirth, they would be more likely to send their pregnant wives to proper medical facilities and less likely to insist on early childbirth after marriage," Reberio said.
The United Nations reports more than 75 percent of deliveries in Bangladesh take place at home and the average age of women having their first child is just 16 years. Recent figures show attitudes toward childbirth are changing, with more women choosing to use professional medical facilities.
A government survey found the proportion of women giving birth in medical facilities has more than doubled, from 9 percent in 2001 to 23 percent in 2010, a trend expected to increase as incomes increase and education levels improve.
