This project is to raise the final funding to print in Senegal and distribute in West Africa 2,000 copies of Hesperian's "A Book for Midwives," already translated into French and beautifully designed and illustrated. Developed for women with little formal education, the book will be used as a text to train new midwives, and give practicing midwives and traditional birth attendants a trusted reference for up to date medical information and technique.
Senegal has a very high infant mortality rate - 51 deaths per 1000 births - and a maternal mortality rate of 410 deaths per 100,000. One in twenty women dies in childbirth. Only 65% of births are assisted by a trained doctor, midwife, or birth attendant. New midwives are trained informally; there is no academic training or networks through which to introduce new methods, medicines, or practices. While care is generally warm-hearted and affordable, even small problems can lead to emergencies.
Low-cost distribution of the French "Book for Midwives" through ENDA and African Birth Collective networks will provide up-to-date, accurate medical information for birthing, pre- & post-natal maternal & newborn care in the main language of West Africa. It will become the basic text for training new midwives and increasing skills of those already practicing. Birth attendants/midwives in rural areas are the trusted local source for reproductive & other women's health issues covered in this book.
1) Lower mortality rates for mothers and newborns. 2) Improved health for women in general 3) A comprehensive midwifery training text accessible to French-speaking Africans
