Transportation

Many women interviewed had travelled for months on foot, by donkey or any 

other means available in search of a hospital that could treat them. Better 

transportation and communication systems between remote villages and hospitals 

should be a priority. Midwives can play a key role in the referral process, but measures 

to get women to hospitals quickly must first be established. Three classic delays (a 

delay in the decision to seek medical attention, a delay in reaching a health care facility 

and a delay in receiving emergency obstetric care at the facility) must be addressed in 

order to change the odds so that women get the high quality care they need.