Traditional Rituals and Customs for Pregnant Women in Selected Villages in Southwest Uganda

Abstract

Uganda has significantly improved its mortality rate in children under age five, but maternal mortality remains high and 2015 Millennium Development Goal 5A will not be achieved. The Ankole sub-region in south-western Uganda is approximately 400 km south of the capital, Kampala, with an estimated population of 2.9 million. It has 71 000 births per year and an average lifetime parity of six. In this sub-region, many mothers are cared for and deliver in their rural villages with traditional birth attendants, and travel to hospital only for complications. The purpose of this study was to determine what potentially harmful and helpful Ankole traditional pregnancy and birth rituals are being practiced, in order to support development of culturally acceptable prevention and intervention strategies to improve maternal and newborn outcomes.