In an ideal world, all of Africa's women would have access to clinics, nurses, obstetricians, medicines: the panoply of staff and equipment needed to make the process of giving birth as safe as possible. Failing that, what can be done to lessen the risks that come with delivering babies? For one, improve the skills of traditional birth attendants (TBAs), say delegates who met this week in Mozambique at an African Union (AU) gathering on sexual and reproductive health care.