Birthrights - The Mountain Midwives of Vietnam
Summary
TLDRIn the rural far north of Vietnam, a battle between modernity and tradition unfolds, with high maternal mortality rates due to home births. Ying, a 20-year-old from the Mong ethnic group, graduates from a program aimed at improving maternal and infant health. She faces the challenge of overcoming cultural traditions, politics, remoteness, and poverty to convince women to give birth at health centers. Ying navigates the delicate balance between respecting her culture and promoting modern healthcare, helping to reduce maternal deaths in her community.
Takeaways
- 🏞️ The script discusses a battle between modernity and tradition in a mountainous region with high maternal mortality rates.
- 🎓 20-year-old Ying, from the Mong ethnic group, is a recent graduate of a program aimed at improving maternal and infant health.
- 🚑 Ying faces challenges such as cultural traditions, politics, remoteness, and poverty in her work as a midwife.
- 🏠 Ying's home, Chica Commune, has a basic health center serving 22,000 locals, but most women prefer traditional home births.
- 🤰 Ethnic minority women, particularly those under 18, are at a higher risk of death during childbirth in the Mong society.
- 🌱 Traditions and rituals are significant reasons why women prefer home births, making it difficult for Ying to promote health center births.
- 🛣️ The journey to the health center involves a 7 km trek and potential dangers, including the risk of kidnapping by human traffickers.
- 🏥 There is a history of tension between the Mong community and the Vietnamese state, affecting trust in government-run health centers.
- 🌐 Ying acts as a translator to ease the tension between Mong women and Vietnamese health workers.
- 👶 Despite the risks, Ying helps deliver a baby safely at the Chica Health Center, but the mother faces complications.
- 🌟 Ying's efforts contribute to a reduction in maternal deaths and she continues to navigate the balance between tradition and modern healthcare.
Q & A
What is the primary conflict depicted in the script?
-The script depicts a conflict between modernity and tradition, particularly in the context of maternal and infant health practices in a rural area.
What is the maternal mortality rate in the region mentioned in the script?
-The maternal mortality rate in the region is up to 10 times higher than other parts of the country.
Who is Ying and what is her role in the community?
-Ying is a 20-year-old from the Mong ethnic group and a recent graduate from a program targeting maternal and infant health. She works as a midwife and aims to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates.
What obstacles does Ying face in her work as a midwife?
-Ying faces obstacles such as cultural tradition, politics, remoteness, and poverty in her efforts to improve maternal and infant health.
Why do many women in the Mong community prefer home births?
-Many women in the Mong community prefer home births because they can perform an important and ancient ritual, which is deeply rooted in their cultural practices.
What is the significance of the Chica Health Center in the script?
-The Chica Health Center is the only place to get medical attention for the 22,000 locals in Chica commune, as the District Hospital is a 3-hour drive away.
What is the impact of home births on newborn mortality rates in the rural mountains?
-Newborns in the rural mountains are 50% more likely to die if born at home compared to those born in the city.
What is the historical context that contributes to the tension between the Mong community and the Vietnamese State?
-A communist policy of assimilation in the 1970s and 80s has left a mark on the Mong community, leading to a distrust of the government and tension with Vietnamese health workers.
What role does Ying play in bridging the gap between the Mong women and Vietnamese health workers?
-Ying acts as a translator and mediator between the Mong women and Vietnamese health workers, easing the tension and helping to facilitate better healthcare practices.
What challenges does Ying face in convincing women like Sa to give birth at the health center?
-Ying must convince women to overcome their fear of the government-run health center while respecting the traditional values of their own culture.
What is the significance of the journey to the Chica Health Center for Pang and Sa?
-The journey to the Chica Health Center is significant as it represents a break from centuries of cultural practice and a step towards modern healthcare, despite the risks and challenges involved.
Outlines
🏞️ Struggle Between Modernity and Tradition
The script introduces a conflict between modern healthcare practices and traditional birthing customs in a rural mountainous region. The area has a significantly higher maternal mortality rate, prompting a need for change. It highlights the story of Ying, a 20-year-old from the Mong ethnic group, who has graduated from a program aimed at improving maternal and infant health. Ying faces challenges such as cultural traditions, political issues, remoteness, and poverty as she attempts to implement modern midwifery practices. The narrative also reveals that most women in Ying's community prefer traditional home births, which are riskier, and that the local health center is underutilized due to these cultural preferences.
👶 High Maternal Mortality Among Ethnic Minorities
This paragraph delves into the specific risks faced by ethnic minority women, such as Sar, who is under 18 and part of the Mong society. The script notes that women marrying at a young age, sometimes as early as 14, face higher mortality rates during childbirth. Ying's mission is complicated by the fact that home births are preferred for cultural reasons, including the performance of ancient rituals. The narrative follows Ying as she tries to convince Sar's family to allow her to take Sar to the health center for a safer birth, navigating through the challenges of tradition and family influence.
🚶♀️ Journey to Modern Healthcare Amidst Dangers
The script describes the difficult journey Ying undertakes with Sar and Pang, another pregnant woman, to reach the Chica Health Center. The journey is fraught with danger, including the risk of kidnapping by human traffickers along the border of Vietnam and China. Once at the health center, the women's unease is palpable due to historical tensions between the Mong community and the Vietnamese government. Ying serves as a bridge, translating for the Mong women and Vietnamese health workers, and facilitating trust. Despite the need for further medical attention at the District Hospital, the women must stay with relatives near the health center for the time being.
🌙 Labor and Delivery in the Face of Risk
The narrative continues with the imminent birth of Pang's child. Pang has to return to her mother's house due to the lack of medical facilities at the health center. The script highlights the risks associated with home births, especially in remote areas without immediate access to medical care. When Pang goes into labor, she must walk in the dark to reach the health center, a journey that could prove fatal. The tension builds as the audience is left to wonder about the outcome of her labor.
🤱 Safe Delivery and Cultural Compromise
The script concludes with Ying successfully assisting in the delivery of Pang's baby after a long labor. However, complications arise when Pang experiences uterine inertia, a leading cause of maternal death in Vietnam. Fortunately, the placenta is eventually delivered, and Pang survives. Ying's efforts lead to a compromise between tradition and modern healthcare, as the Vietnamese doctors allow a modified version of a traditional Mong birthright to be performed. The narrative also touches on the broader issue of maternal mortality worldwide and Ying's role in helping to reduce it. The story ends with a personal note, as Sar decides to return to her village and give birth at home, despite the risks.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Modernity
💡Maternal Mortality Rate
💡Ethnic Minority Women
💡Cultural Tradition
💡Remoteness
💡Poverty
💡Midwife
💡Home Births
💡Health Center
💡Assimilation Policy
💡Childbirth
Highlights
The battle between modernity and tradition in maternal health practices.
Maternal mortality rate in the area is up to 10 times higher than other parts of the country.
Introduction of a program targeting maternal and infant health in ethnic minority regions.
Ying, a 20-year-old from the Mong ethnic group, graduates from a midwife program.
Challenges faced by Ying include cultural tradition, politics, remoteness, and poverty.
Chica Commune's basic health center is the only medical facility for 22,000 locals.
70% of women in Chica prefer traditional home births, increasing newborn mortality rates.
Ying's dual identity as an ethnic Mong and a trained midwife.
The preference for home births to perform ancient rituals.
Ying's mission to convince women to give birth at the health center.
The journey of Ying and pregnant women towards the Chica Health Center.
Risks of giving birth along the Vietnam-China border due to human trafficking.
Tension between the Vietnamese State and the Mong community due to past assimilation policies.
Ying's role as a translator to ease tension between Mong women and Vietnamese health workers.
Pang's 6-hour journey for an ultrasound at the district hospital.
Pang's labor and the potential dangers of giving birth at home.
Ying's successful delivery of Pang's baby despite complications.
The cultural practice of allowing the husband to perform a birthright ritual post-delivery.
The global statistic of over 300,000 women dying in childbirth annually.
Ying's contribution to reducing maternal mortality and the ongoing challenge of balancing tradition with modernity.
Transcripts
[Music]
[Music]
behind the beauty of these mountains a
battle is being fought between modernity
and tradition
[Music]
this area has a maternal mortality rate
of up to 10 times higher than other
parts of the
country in order to save lives ancient
birthing practices must give
way 20-year-old Ying is from the Mong
ethnic group she is one of 49 ethnic
minority women who have recently
graduated from a program targeting
maternal and infant Health in the
region
[Music]
but for Ying to succeed in her work as a
midwife she must overcome the obstacles
of cultural tradition politics
remoteness and
[Music]
poverty
foree
fore
[Music]
fore
foree
[Music]
foree
spee
[Music]
Ying's home is chica commune a group of
villages in the rural far north of the
country mostly populated by the
[Applause]
Mong The District Hospital is a 3-hour
driveway this means for the 22,000
locals chica's basic health center is
the only place to get medical
attention over the last year only a very
small number of women in chica gave
birth at the local Health Center whilst
70% of women chose a traditional birth
at
home because ethnic women are much more
likely to have home births newborns in
the rural mountains are 50% more likely
to die than in the
city Ying is herself an ethnic Mong and
is caught between these two worlds in
order to reduce deaths she must convince
chica's women to overcome their fear of
the government run Health Center yet
respect the traditional values of her
own
[Music]
culture
[Music]
fore
foreign
[Music]
spee
fore
[Music]
foree
Ying arrives at sar's Village s lives
with her husband and his family who are
on a break from working in the
field in Vietnam ethnic minority women
are four times more likely to die during
childb
birth this figure Rises amongst women
like s who are under the age of
18 in Mong Society women marrying as
young as 14 is
[Music]
spe
[Music]
for forign
[Laughter]
[Music]
spee
one of the many reasons among women
prefer home births is so they can
perform an important and ancient
ritual
for these Customs make it difficult for
y to convince women to give birth at the
health
center
the next day Ying returns to s's village
now she must get past s's husband and
father in order to take her back to
chica
fore
having convinced the family ying and sa
begin their Journey back to chica but on
their way must stop at another
[Music]
Village
foree
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
foree
[Music]
sister-in-law 22-year-old Pang is also 9
months pregnant Pang chose to give birth
to her first two children at
[Music]
home
fore
fore
[Music]
fore
Ying guides Pang and sa on a 7 kmet
Journey towards the Chica Health
[Music]
Center there is a high chance that one
of them could give birth at any
time and there is an added
danger the height takes them along the
borderline of Vietnam and
China
in recent years this area has seen a
massive rise in the kidnapping of M
women by Chinese sex
[Music]
traffickers
at the Chica Health Center Pang and sa
nervously await their
checkups their unease stems from a
history of tension between the
Vietnamese State and a 700,000 strong
Mong
Community a communist policy of
assimilation in the 1970s and 80s has
left its Mark and a distrust of the
government remains
[Music]
as part of her job Ying must ease this
tension by acting as a translator
between M women and Vietnamese health
[Music]
[Music]
workers
the health center can't give Pang the
full examination she needs so tomorrow
she will have to make a 6-hour return
Journey to the district Hospital for an
ultrasound but for now she'll stay at
her parents home near the health center
whilst s also goes to stay with
relatives
nearby
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
spee
for
[Music]
fore
the next day Pang returns from her trip
to The District
[Music]
Hospital
[Music]
[Music]
foree
[Music]
with a birth imminent there is no choice
now but for Pang to return to her
mother's house and
[Music]
wait
10 hours later and Pang is now in labor
she must walk for 30 minutes in the dark
to get to the Health Center if Pang
gives birth now it could be
[Music]
fatal
foree
[Music]
speech
spee
[Music]
[Music]
for
[Music]
spee
[Music]
foree
[Music]
speee
[Music]
fore
speee
[Laughter]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
foree
[Music]
[Music]
for
speee
after 4 hours of Labor Ying has helped
safely deliver the baby but the danger
remains for
Pang in a condition known as uterine
inertia her uterus is failing to
contract normally causing a delay in the
delivery of her
placenta this is Vietnam's number one
cause of maternal
death
[Music]
for
speech
[Music]
speee
spe
[Music]
for but this time Pang is
lucky finally the placenta is
delivered
fore
spee
fore
[Music]
foreign
[Music]
for by not having a home birth Ying has
convinced the family to break with
centuries of cultural practice
even so the Vietnamese doctors allow
pang's husband to carry out a modified
version of the most important M
Birthright
[Music]
hang named her newborn daughter after
ying a few days later s decided to
return to her Village and assisted by
her mother-in-law gave birth to a boy at
[Applause]
home
[Music]
[Music]
across the globe over 300,000 women die
each year in child birth 99% in
developing countries like
Vietnam Ying has played her own small
part in reducing that figure and in
order to save more lives she must
continue to walk the fine line between
tradition and
modernity for Ying the challenge
[Music]
continues
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