644 traditional midwives trained in Bungoma

Bungoma County Health Executive Stephen Kokonya. PHOTO | TITUS OTEBA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Bungoma County government has trained 644 traditional birth attendants to facilitate safe deliveries in its health facilities.

The County Health Executive Stephen Kokonya on Monday said maternal child mortality rates have dropped in the last two year following the training of the birth attendants.

“Our officers in conjunction with our consultants, Internews, have helped train the midwives on safe deliveries to stop mortality rates,” he said.

Speaking during a one day workshop on role of birth companions in safe delivery at Tourist Hotel, Mr Kokonya said over 600 traditional birth attendants had been trained and given the new name ‘Birth Companions’.

He said they chose to train the midwives since they command respect in their communities.

“The future of our population depends on how we care of pregnant mother and new born babies, maternal health care will determine the survival of the child to be born, ,” he said.

The nursing officer in charge of Bumula Sub County Hospital Ms Jenipher Maasai said the health department discovered there was a rise in the number of maternal deaths in the hands of traditional birth attendants.

“Traditional birth attendants were unable to deal with complications that occurred during home deliveries and it was also impossible for them to prevent mothers from being infected so the training will reduce such cases,” he said.