Shuma, Jane Onasaa (2011) Safe Motherhood in Kiteto District, What does it Mean in the Umbrella of Women’s Reproductive Rights? Masters thesis, International Institute of Social Studies.
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Abstract
This research paper focuses on the issue of maternal mortality in Tanzania from a human rights perspective. It is looking at how women understand the issue of safe motherhood and their different experiences of delivery. Kiteto district was selected as a case study because it is one of the rural districts in Tanzania which has very high maternal mortality ratio. The qualitative re-search data was collected through focus group discussion with women who have delivered both at home and at the health facility; and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs). Key informant interviews were used to interview Health Workers and MoHSW representative; and finally personal interviews was used to NGOs working on maternal health issues in Tanzania. The paper use a human rights based approach to analyse its findings. The discussion in the analysis is based on three arguments namely: women’s multiple duties and safe motherhood; experiences of Women during Delivering - at Home (TBA) and at the Health Facility; and barriers that reinforce low utilization of health facility delivery services. Thus, the paper argues that, since both facilities of delivery have gaps in attaining women’s right to safe motherhood, therefore the right based approach would be for the government to consider working with TBAs who will eventually provide linkages of pregnant women to the formal health system. Further, discouraging TBAs activities without improving conditions at the health facility does not help in reducing maternal mortality. This research aims at contributing to the existing literature of maternal health and human rights in Tanzania. It hopes that the findings and recom-mendation would assist the study area in reducing maternal mortality.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | Relevance to Development Studies Maternal health is a development agenda which has recently gained a wider political attention from governments and multilateral agencies. It is also raised concern in the human rights principles which proposed for ‘a right based approach in reducing maternal mortality’. Inclusion of maternal health in the Millennium Development Goal 5 has revealed how important the world has committed itself in reducing maternal mortality. This is because, maternal health affects a woman’s health as a mother, her status of obtaining education/making decision as an individual, affects the welfare of her children and finally affects the nation’s productivity (Gill et al. 2007). Few decades ago, maternal health was not seen as an issue of concern since women’s issues were not of a priority to policy makers and in the global economy. Further, due to gender inequality in many parts of the world, women find themselves in lower classes and their health needs have been not significant. However, having realized and appreciated the contribution of women in the development world, it was crucial for countries to improve status of women including reproductive rights. The human rights community has raised the concern that maternal mortality is preventable and avoidable and that compliance of international human rights treaties relating to women’s access to healthcare is required so as to reduce maternal death (Yamin and Maine 1999: 607). If countries commit themselves to improve women’s right to health under the human rights instruments, then achieving Millennium Development Goal 5 is possible. |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Maternal Mortality, Reproductive Right, Safe motherhood, Traditional Birth Attendants., Human Rights, Development, Social Justice (HDS), |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman |
| Divisions: | Africana |
| Depositing User: | JHI Africa |
| Date Deposited: | 17 Jun 2015 13:28 |
| Last Modified: | 17 Jun 2015 13:28 |
| URI: | http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/194 |
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