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The particular social-cultural context of Mayotte is resulting in an increase in the number of unexpected home births. When a secondary emergency response vehicle is dispatched, A & E nurses are involved in providing prehospital care, sometimes in difficult conditions, as one nurse testifies in this account.

This article reflects on how community midwifery skills days have assisted community midwives to develop confidence in managing unexpected emergencies at home births, and how team work, communication and working in partnership have supported women in their choices for birth.

Unlabelled: Since the 1990s, the TBA training strategy in developing countries has been increasingly seen as ineffective and hence its funding was subsequently reallocated to providing skilled attendants during delivery. The ineffectiveness of training programmes is blamed on TBAs lower literacy, their inability to adapt knowledge from training and certain practices that may cause maternal and infant health problems. However most training impact assessments evaluate post-training TBA practices and do not assess the training strategy. There are serious deficiencies noted in information on TBA training strategy in developing countries. The design and content of the training is vital to the effectiveness of TBA training programmes. We draw on Jordan's concept of 'authoritative knowledge' to assess the extent to which there is a synthesis of both biomedical and locally practiced knowledge in the content and community involvement in the design of TBA a training programme in India., Findings: The implementation of the TBA training programme at the local level overlooks the significance of and need for a baseline study and needs assessment at the local community level from which to build a training programme that is apposite to the local mother's needs and that fits within their 'comfort zone' during an act that, for most, requires a forum in which issues of modesty can be addressed. There was also little scope for the training to be a two way process of learning between the health professionals and the TBAs with hands-on experience and knowledge. The evidence from this study shows that there is an overall 'authority' of biomedical over traditional knowledge in the planning and implementation process of the TBA training programme. Certain vital information was not covered in the training content including advice to delay bathing babies for at least six hours after birth, to refrain from applying oil on the infant, and to wash hands again before directly handling mother or infant. Information on complication management and hypothermia was not adequately covered in the local TBA training programme., Key Conclusions: The suggested improvements include the need to include a baseline study, appropriate selection criteria, improve information in the training manual to increase clarity of meaning, and to encourage beneficial traditional practices through training., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To synthesise implementation lessons regarding birth kits in terms of the context, the user, requirements for use and the logistics of supplying kits., Design: The scoping review was informed through a systematic literature review; a call for information distributed to experts in maternal and child health, relevant research centres and specialist libraries; a search of the web sites of groups working in the area of maternal and child health; and data extraction from DHS surveys. Data synthesis involved the production of a simple descriptive summary of the state of knowledge regarding birth kits., Participants: The 28 articles included in the review described a total of 21 birth kits used in 40 different countries and in many cases the kits were part of a package of interventions., Findings: Although birth kits are available in more than 50 low resource countries, evidence regarding implementation is limited. Levels of birth kit use vary considerably (8-99%); with higher levels being reported where birth kits are distributed free as part of a research programme. Identifying the user of the birth kit was difficult in most reports and the evidence regarding training requirements for birth kit use was conflicting. Limited information exists regarding facilitators and barriers to birth kit use, and how birth kits fit within the wider service delivery of maternal and child health., Conclusion: Despite widespread use of birth kits, implementation lessons are hard to identify. The fact that birth kits are predominantly used in non-facility settings, and probably by non-skilled attendants, poses further challenges in synthesising the evidence. It would seem logical that government run programmes would increase utlisation rates; however in these countries national level data are not yet available. Such data are crucial to identifying how women obtain and use birth kits. The importance of context cannot be over emphasised, and better descriptive methods are needed to capture contextual factors that may impact on the implementation process., Implications for Practice: Birth kits are a promising technology to achieve MDG 5, however further research is needed before making recommendations to scale up mother held birth kits or to expand kit contents., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Our objective was to describe the outcomes of intended home birth among 57 women with a previous cesarean birth. Data were drawn from a larger prospective study of intended homebirth in nurse-midwifery practice. Available data included demographics, perinatal risk information, and outcomes of prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, and neonatal care. The hospital course was reviewed for those transferred to the hospital setting. Fifty-three of 57 women (93%) had a spontaneous vaginal birth, 1 had a vacuum-assisted birth, and 3 (5.3%) had a repeat cesarean birth. Thirty-one of 32 (97%) women who had a previous vaginal birth after cesarean birth (VBAC) had a successful VBAC; 22 of 25 (88%) women without a history of VBAC successfully delivered vaginally. Fifty (87.7%) of these women delivered in the home setting, whereas 7 (12.3%) delivered in the hospital setting. None of the women experienced uterine rupture or dehiscence. One infant was stillborn. This event was attributed to a postdates pregnancy with meconium. Certified nurse-midwives with homebirth practices must be knowledgeable about the risks for mother and baby, screen clientele appropriately, and be able to counsel patients with regard to potential adverse outcomes. Given what is presently known, VBAC is not recommended in the homebirth setting. It is imperative in the light of current evidence and practice climate to advocate for the availability of certified nurse-midwife services and woman-centered care in the hospital setting.

A combined narrative review and metanalytic review was conducted to summarize published and unpublished studies completed between 1970 and 2002 on the relationship between traditional birth attendant (TBA) training and increased use of professional antenatal care (ANC). Fifteen studies (n = 15) from 8 countries and 2 world regions were analyzed. There are, to varying degrees, positive associations between TBA training and TBA knowledge of the value and timing of ANC services, TBA behavior in offering advice or assistance to obtain ANC, and compliance and use of ANC services by women cared for by TBAs or living in areas served by TBAs. There is a serious lack of information about TBA training program characteristics. Although the findings cannot be causally attributed to TBA training, the results suggest that training may increase ANC attendance rates by about 38%. This magnitude of improvement could contribute to a reduction in maternal and perinatal mortality in areas where women have access to quality antenatal and emergency obstetric care. There is an urgent need to improve capacity for evaluation and research of the effect of TBA training programs and other factors that influence women's use of ANC services.

Traditional birth attendant (TBA) training commenced in many places in the non-Western world in the 1970s, supported by the World Health Organization and other funding bodies. By 1997, senior policy makers decided to refocus priorities on the provision of "skilled attendants" to assist birthing women. The definition of skilled attendants excluded TBAs and resulted in the subsequent withdrawal of funding for TBA training globally. A review of the health and sociological literature and international policy documents that address TBA training revealed how international policy and professional orientation are reflected in education programs designed for the TBA. Policy makers risk ignoring the important cultural and social roles TBAs fulfill in their local communities and fail to recognize the barriers to the provision of skilled care. The provision of skilled attendants for all birthing women cannot occur in isolation from TBAs who in themselves are also highly skilled. This article argues a legitimacy of alternative worldviews and acknowledges the contribution TBAs make to childbearing women across the world.

Objective: to summarise the available published and unpublished studies on traditional birth attendant (TBA) training effectiveness., Design: a meta-analysis., Study Sample: sixty studies (n=60) spanning 1971-1999 from 24 countries and three regions., Measurements: the effect size index, Cohen's h for each outcome; the variance-weighted mean effect size and 95% confidence interval for sub-group of outcomes; homogeneity tests on the distribution of the weighted mean effect sizes; and sensitivity analysis to detect the presence of publication bias., Findings: TBA training was associated with significant increases in attributes such as TBA 'knowledge' (90%), 'attitude' (74%), 'behaviour' (63%) and 'advice' (90%) over the untrained TBA baseline. Results for 'behaviour' and 'advice' in specific content areas related to peri-neonatal health outcome, however, reveal sources of variability and underscore the conflicting evidence on TBA training. TBA training was also associated with small but significant decreases in peri-neonatal mortality (8%) and birth asphyxia mortality (11%). Incomplete reporting limited the assessment of neonatal mortality due to tetanus and acute respiratory infection, maternal mortality, as well as assessment of the relationship between intervention characteristics and outcomes. The quality of studies included in the meta-analysis lack sufficient rigour to address the question of causality. Thus, while the data suggest that TBA training is effective in terms of the outcomes measured, we are unable to demonstrate that it is a cost-effective intervention., Implications: skilled attendance at birth is a distant reality in many developing countries and effective community-based strategies are needed to help reduce high levels of mortality. Given the magnitude of peri-neonatal mortality, the associations observed between TBA training peri-neonatal and birth asphyxia mortality, and TBA attributes in content relevant to peri-neonatal survival, we suggest that these strategies may usefully include TBA training in appropriate settings. If TBAs are to be trained, however, it is imperative that their training be adequately evaluated in order to develop the strong evidence base that is lacking to-date and that is necessary for sound policy and programming.

Background: Perineal lacerations are a source of significant discomfort to many women. This descriptive study examined perineal outcomes in a home birth population, and provides a preliminary description of factors associated with perineal laceration and episiotomy., Methods: Data were drawn from a prospective cohort study of 1404 intended home births in nurse-midwifery practices. Analyses focused on a subgroup of 1068 women in 28 midwifery practices who delivered at home with a midwife in attendance. Perineal trauma included both episiotomy and lacerations. Minor abrasions and superficial lacerations that did not require suturing were included with the intact perineum group. Associations between perineal trauma and study variables were examined in the pooled dataset and for multiparous and nulliparous women separately., Results: In this sample 69.6 percent of the women had an intact perineum, 15 (1.4%) had an episiotomy, 28.9 percent had first- or second-degree lacerations, and 7 women (0.7%) had third- or fourth-degree lacerations. Logistic regression analyses showed that in multiparas, low socioeconomic status and higher parity were associated with intact perineum, whereas older age (>/= 40 yr), previous episiotomy, weight gain of over 40 pounds, prolonged second stage, and the use of oils or lubricants were associated with perineal trauma. Among nulliparas, low socioeconomic status, kneeling or hands-and-knees position at delivery, and manual support of the perineum at delivery were associated with intact perineum, whereas perineal massage during delivery was associated with perineal trauma., Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that it is possible for midwives to achieve a high rate of intact perineums and a low rate of episiotomy in a select setting and with a select population.