Like most other people living in the village of Quereshi Wala in central Pakistan, Haji Muhammad Ramzan respects traditional beliefs and is resistant to change. One such belief is that pregnancy is a natural process, so there is no need for women to have prenatal care.

Haji Muhammad's daughter-in-law Shahiba Bibi wasn't so sure about that. Her first baby died shortly after birth from respiratory problems, and now pregnant with her second child, she wanted to see a doctor for a checkup. With her husband working abroad, she approached her father-in-law for permission, but he stubbornly refused.

"After losing my first baby, I worried that there was something I could have done differently while I was pregnant," Shahiba said. "This time, I knew it was important to see a doctor."

Taking a different approach, Shahiba instead asked Haji Muhammad instead to accompany her to a community health education session sponsored by a USAID-funded health project called Technical Assistance for Capacity Building in Midwifery, Information and Logistics, or TACMIL.

During the session, trainers explained the importance of prenatal checkups, including tetanus vaccination, general health, hygiene and nutrition; and danger signs and precautionary measures to take during pregnancy.

After the course, Haji Muhammad decided that Shahida should be allowed to visit a woman doctor, and took her to a local hospital for a prenatal checkup. During the visit, the doctor discovered the baby was incorrectly positioned, which would make the delivery impossible to manage at home. On the doctor's advice, Shahida delivered a healthy baby boy at a local hospital.

"The session really opened my eyes," Haji Muhammad said. "A short visit to the doctor alerted us to a situation where my daughter-in-law could have died. Now I have a healthy grandson."

Since the training, members of the Qureshi Wala community - as well as more than 250 others in Pakistan - have been participating in screening programs and pre- and post-natal care at camps run by health volunteers under guidelines outlined by project staff.

Awareness building sessions have also helped dispel myths about tetanus vaccinations, explaining their importance, especially for pregnant women.