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Maternity waiting homes in Southern Lao PDR : the unique 'silk home'

Eckermann, Elizabeth and Giovanni, Deodato 2008, Maternity waiting homes in Southern Lao PDR : the unique 'silk home', Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research, vol. 34, no. 5, pp. 767-775.

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Title Maternity waiting homes in Southern Lao PDR : the unique 'silk home'
Author(s) Eckermann, Elizabeth
Giovanni, Deodato
Journal name Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research
Volume number 34
Issue number 5
Start page 767
End page 775
Publisher Wiley-Blackwell
Place of publication Australia
Publication date 2008-10
ISSN 1341-8076
1447-0756
Keyword(s) barriers to health care
Lao PDR
maternal health
maternity waiting homes
Summary The concept of maternity waiting homes (MWH) has a long history spanning over 100 years. The research reported here was conducted in the Thateng District of Sekong Province in southern Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) to establish whether the MWH concept would be affordable, accessible, and most importantly acceptable, as a strategy to improve maternal outcomes in the remote communities of Thateng with a high proportion of the population from ethnic minority groups. The research suggested that there were major barriers to minority ethnic groups using existing maternal health services (reflected in very low usage of trained birth attendants and hospitals and clinics) in Thateng. Unless MWH are adapted to overcome these potential barriers, such initiatives will suffer the same fate as existing maternal facilities. Consequently, the Lao iteration of the concept, as operationalized in the Silk Homes project in southern Lao PDR is unique in combining maternal and infant health services with opportunities for micro credit and income generating activities and allowing non-harmful traditional practices to co-exist alongside modern medical protocols. These innovative approaches to the MWH concept address the major economic, social and cultural barriers to usage of safe birthing options in remote communities of southern Lao PDR.
Notes The definitive version is available at Wiley Online Library, www.wileyonlinelibrary.com.
Language eng
Field of Research 111799 Public Health and Health Services not elsewhere classified
Socio Economic Objective 920499 Public Health (excl. Specific Population Health) not elsewhere classified
HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
HERDC collection year 2008
Copyright notice ©2008, The authors. Journal compilation 2008 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30017945

Document type: Journal Article
Collections: School of History, Heritage and Society
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Created: Fri, 14 Aug 2009, 13:58:58 EST