Singing Your Way To Safe Delivery
Gifti Paulos · 2012
Maternal and neonatal mortality rates in Ethiopia are among the highest in the world. The maternal mortality ratio is 676 per 100,000 live births and the neonatal mortality rate is 37 per 1000 live births (Demographic Health Survey (DHS), 2011). Because the rates were so high, the Maternal and Newborn Health in Ethiopia Partnership (MaNHEP) was established to improve maternal and neonatal health. A major part of their initiative is to use behavioral change communication methods such as music, to promote healthy behaviors. As part of that initiative, the author focused on birth songs sung by women in Oromo communities in Ethiopia, one of the sites where MaNHEP is working. The objectives of this thesis are to identify the role the birth songs play in these communities and determine the content and meaning of the messages in the songs. The author uses qualitative research methods including observation of women singing birth songs; focus group discussions with mothers, traditional birth attendants and frontline health workers; and in-depth interviews with MaNHEP staff. Results suggest that the birth songs, particularly the birth ceremonies of which they are an integral component, play a huge role in the lives of the women. They are seen as joyous social activities that facilitate camaraderie among all the women in the community in celebrating a woman's successful delivery. The results indicate that songs in general have also been useful in teaching important lessons regarding maternal and newborn health and that music is a great communication vehicle that should be further explored in the Oromo communities.