Oosterbaan M M, da Costa M V
World Health Organization, Guinea-Bissau.
World Health Stat Q. 1995;48(1):39-43.
The study examined the range of traditional and spiritual concepts surrounding pregnancy and childbirth. Most of these beliefs and practices prevent appropriate nutrition, antenatal, and delivery care. Knowledge of danger signs and risk factors is virtually absent. When illness becomes manifest the women tend to consult competing sectors of traditional and modern medicine, but no referral or cooperation exists between them. The perceived curative orientation of antenatal service results in their underutilization. The study findings reinforce the need to develop appropriate health education programmes to overcome prevailing prejudices towards the modern health sector and covering a wide range of health education topics, including danger signs in pregnancy and the accompanying antenatal and delivery care. The integration of traditional practitioners into the existing primary health care system should be encouraged. The modern sector would benefit from the upgrading of personnel, equipment, and drugs as well as the development of integrated maternal and child health and family planning services. Continuous education should help nurses and midwives to become more responsive to the special needs of pregnant women and to provide family planning education. Outside the health sector, school health education should include sex education in order to avoid unwanted, early pregnancies. Finally the health information system should be improved to provide accurate information on pregnancy related morbidity and maternal mortality.
该研究调查了围绕怀孕和分娩的一系列传统及精神观念。这些观念和做法大多妨碍了适当的营养、产前及分娩护理。几乎不存在对危险信号和风险因素的认知。当疾病显现时，女性往往会向传统医学和现代医学的不同领域咨询，但它们之间不存在转诊或合作。产前服务的治疗导向导致其利用率低下。研究结果强化了制定适当健康教育计划的必要性，以克服对现代卫生部门的普遍偏见，并涵盖广泛的健康教育主题，包括孕期危险信号以及相关的产前和分娩护理。应鼓励将传统从业者纳入现有的初级卫生保健系统。现代卫生部门将从人员、设备和药品的升级以及综合母婴健康和计划生育服务的发展中受益。持续教育应有助于护士和助产士更好地回应孕妇的特殊需求，并提供计划生育教育。在卫生部门之外，学校健康教育应包括性教育，以避免意外怀孕和早孕。最后，应改进卫生信息系统，以提供有关妊娠相关发病率和孕产妇死亡率的准确信息。
