Childbirth

A law passed in November 2008 prohibiting female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in the state of Southern Kordofan is unique in Sudan. But for it to translate into genuine abolition, deep-seated attitudes and misinformation will have to be overcome.

Play Your Part is a particpatory film project that gives a voice to mothers, midwives and children in one African country - and brings those voices to a global audience. Five midwives and a doctor working on the front line of maternal and child heath were trained in film making in order to gather real life stories within their own country of Tanzania. This is not a professionally made advocacy film. This is a documentary made from the heart by people telling their stories for the first time.

Play Your Part uses film and stories from the community to address mother and child health issues centeral to saving lives and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The vibrant soundtrack is written and performed by one of Tanzania's leading singers, Stara Thomas.

The project was created by the White Ribbon Alliance Tanzania, and funded by the UK Governmennt's Department for Internationl Development. Special thanks to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of the Government of Tanzania for its support.

Antenatal care provides an opportunity to inform and educate pregnant women on a variety of issues related to pregnancy, birth and parenthood. The aim of this exercise is to equip them to make appropriate choices that will contribute to optimum pregnancy outcome and care of the newborn. This concept has made antenatal education programmes a standard component of antenatal care worldwide.

There has been controversy about the impact of antenatal education on pregnancy outcome. However, a recent synthesis of experience with information, education and communication (IEC) makes the point that it works. In other words, an appropriate strategy of IEC leads to or reinforces desirable attitudes and behaviour.

Educated women have better pregnancy outcome compared with uneducated women. This may be partly because they are better informed and make better choices. Literacy among women in many developing countries is low and there are socio-cultural beliefs and practices with adverse effects on pregnancy and birth even among educated women. The "Three Phases of Delay Model" highlights the importance of IEC in the prevention of maternal death by describing the sequence of events from late recognition of danger signs to maternal death. Therefore, an appropriate programme of health literacy or behaviour change communication is highly desirable.