Phase 1 Maternal Health Care Project Report MaterCare Maternal Health Project, 1st Phase Prof. Kay Matthews with new graduates of the TBA training program. In May, I went to Ghana to assess the MaterCare prevention programs and give advice and support as necessary. The programs are based at St. Theresa's Hospital, Nkoranza, a small bush town in the Brong Ahafo region of central West Ghana. Unlike in Canada, birth for most women in Ghana is quite hazardous, especially in rural areas.
Most women give birth in their homes or rural clinics, far from emergency maternity care.
The majority are delivered by TBAs, village women who have minimal or no formal training. One of the major objectives of the maternal mortality prevention program is to train the traditional birth attendants in safe delivery practice and to identify mothers with risk conditions and refer them to hospital. When I arrived in Nkoranza the first group of TBAs had almost completed their two-week training program. At the end of the week we graduated 34 TBAs and supplied them with delivery kits and certificates. This was a joyful occasion because the TBAs were going home.