BU Research Blog

Birthing centre in Nawalparasi, rural Nepal 

Our next instalment of the ‘Photo of the Week’ series features Professor Edwin van Teijlingen’s image of a birthing centre in rural Nepal.  The series is a weekly instalment, which features an image taken by our fantastic BU staff and students. The photos give a glimpse into some of the fascinating work our researchers have been doing across BU and the wider community.

The Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) visited one of the poorest parts of rural Nawalparasi District, Nepal to carry out fieldwork. The team visited a birthing centre at the health post in Thulo Khairatawa.  The photo shows the delivery room. It may look bare and basic to a westerner, but it is a major improvement compared to the situation a few years ago, thanks to financial support from Green Tara UK and Karuna Germany and health promotion support from Green Tara Nepal.

Research conducted by the CMMPH at BU evaluates the impact of (a) a health promotion intervention in the community around the birthing centre; and (b) training the maternity care providers in rural birthing centres of Nawalparasi. One obvious impact to date is the increasing number of rural women giving birth in small birthing units such as this one.

If you’d like find out more about the research or the photo itself then please contact Professor van Teijlingen

This photo was originally an entry in the 2017 Research Photography Competition. If you have any other questions about the Photo of the Week series or the competition please email research@bournemouth.ac.uk