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Touth Koeun, ex-Khmer Rouge child soldier turned midwife and trainer, campaigning on maternity issues, Cambodia

Yu Sokna's baby after she has undergone "Ang Pleung" - Postpartum heating procedure: After giving birth a woman is carried by her husband to a wood or bamboo bed under which a fire has been built. The women has a bag of ice on her navel. Meanwhile a Traditional Healer or Birth Attendant recites Buddhists texts while walking around the bed to protect the woman from evil spirits. In the past it was considered important to use a certain mix of woods to protect against supernatural forces and produce a smoke that eased the pain of childbirth. At the present time most women appear to prefer to use charcoal as it is smoke free, but may be more toxic...Touth Koeun, an ex-Khmer Rouge child soldier turned midwife and trainer, is on the frontline again, but this time campaigning on maternity issues, in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia. The country experiences an extraordinarily high incidence of infant and maternal mortality. The Preah Vihear province, in Cambodia's north, bordering on the Thai border, can be described as an outback rural area, villages often many hours away from a health centre or clinic, and sometimes near the frontline where soldiers and their families are living. Here, Touth Kouen, a locally much respected pioneer and experienced in maternity issues, trains indigenous women, known as 'Traditional Birth Attendants' (TBA's), correct procedures to assist midwives and nurses, to give direct support to mothers and their babies, during ante and post natal periods. Traditional bush medicine and spiritual practices by 'Kruu' bush doctors, involving the killing of endangered species, gathering herbs and plants, whose burnt remains are often ground up into unhealthy potions, and fed to mothers as miracle cures, and postpartum heating, can cause illness and death. The Kruu, and local people in general need to be re-educated, so as to create a healthy nurturing environment for mothers and their babies. Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia

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Happy mother, happy baby. The story of Touth Koeun, midwife, Cambodia
Yu Sokna's baby after she has undergone "Ang Pleung" - Postpartum heating procedure: After giving birth a woman is carried by her husband to a wood or bamboo bed under which a fire has been built. The women has a bag of ice on her navel. Meanwhile a Traditional Healer or Birth Attendant recites Buddhists texts while walking around the bed to protect the woman from evil spirits. In the past it was considered important to use a certain mix of woods to protect against supernatural forces and produce a smoke that eased the pain of childbirth. At the present time most women appear to prefer to use charcoal as it is smoke free, but may be more toxic...Touth Koeun, an ex-Khmer Rouge child soldier turned midwife and trainer, is on the frontline again, but this time campaigning on maternity issues, in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia. The country experiences an extraordinarily high incidence of infant and maternal mortality. The Preah Vihear province, in Cambodia's north, bordering on the Thai border, can be described as an outback rural area, villages often many hours away from a health centre or clinic, and sometimes near the frontline where soldiers and their families are living. Here, Touth Kouen, a locally much respected pioneer and experienced in maternity issues, trains indigenous women, known as 'Traditional Birth Attendants' (TBA's), correct procedures to assist midwives and nurses, to give direct support to mothers and their babies, during ante and post natal periods. Traditional bush medicine and spiritual practices by 'Kruu' bush doctors, involving the killing of endangered species, gathering herbs and plants, whose burnt remains are often ground up into unhealthy potions, and fed to mothers as miracle cures, and postpartum heating, can cause illness and death. The Kruu, and local people in general need to be re-educated, so as to create a healthy nurturing environment for mothers and their babies. Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia
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