The Kyrgyz Republic (also known as Kyrgyzstan) is a fascinating country located west of China, south of Russia, and north of India. It is on the historical Silk Road that linked the great eastern and western civilizations for centuries. After years as part of the Soviet Union, the Kyrgyz Republic gained its independence in 1991.
In November 2021 Shanna Bradley, ICCE, Mary Swartzendruber (ICCE Candidate), and Bonita Katz, RN, ICCE, ICBD, IAT were invited by Crosslink Development International to teach community health workers about pregnancy, birth, and newborn care. We offered a dual workshop for both childbirth educators and birth doulas. The five-day training also included information on the menstrual cycle and fertility as well as bereavement, mental health, and breastfeeding. The women in the workshop were kind, generous, and eager to learn. Crosslink Development received grants to have both the Childbirth Educator and Birth Doula programs translated into the Kyrgyz language. Other resources, including the handouts and power points from the workshop, were translated as well.
A second and third training were held in May 2022 and March 2023. Each time the number of participants grew and diversified. While the initial workshop was attended by mostly community health workers, subsequent workshops were attended by midwives, nurses, and physicians as well. In November of 2021 most of the attendees were from Bishkek, the capital city of the Kyrgyz Republic (although a Filipina woman and an Afghani woman also participated). Each training brought a wider array of people from every corner of Kyrgyzstan, as well as a few from Russia, North America, and Europe. Each workshop was translated into Kyrgyz. In March 2023, a Russian translation was included as well.
The hope is that this evidence-based training will help improve birth outcomes in Kyrgyz Republic. Several women have already completed their certification as childbirth educators and birth doulas.
