A Traditional Medicine Birth Attendant (TBA), Mr Moruf Abuna, says many incidences of caesarean sections (CS) can be avoided if pregnant women give birth in traditional clinics.

He made the assertion in an interview with newsmen in Lagos on Thursday.

Abuna, who is the Chairman of TBAs in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos State, said their patients preferred TBAs over orthodox clinics and maternities because the traditional birth attendants  were readily available and accessible.

He said the women also believed that the TBAs could manage some pregnancy-related issues better than the medical practitioners.

“From my experience and that of other TBAs, if they gather 100 per cent of patients they want to do CS on, by God’s grace, 80 per cent will deliver their babies without CS and any crisis,” he said.

Abuna said the success story of the TBAs was due to some herbal medicines which help pregnant women deliver safely, without any crisis and side effects.

“Like babies in transverse position (lying across the uterus), 100 per cent is CS in medical hospitals but we have herbs that God will use to turn the baby to normal position,” he said.

However, he said that pregnant women with cases such as high blood pressure, placenta previa and bleeding were referred to medical hospitals for treatment.

He noted that it was mandatory for women who attended traditional clinics for the first time to have their blood pressure checked and run some blood tests, including HIV, genotype and blood group for rhesus factor.

Abuna, who is also a member of the Task Force at the Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board (LSTMB), said that members of the TBAs were trained and licensed by the board.

He said the LSTMB regulates the activities of the TBAs in Lagos State and had imposed certain limitations on them.