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ndonesia must improve birthing procedures and treatments to reduce the national infant mortality rate to levels stipulated in the United Nations' Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), experts say.

Indonesia's infant mortality rate is currently around 36 per 1,000 live births, Indonesian Pediatricians Association (IDAI) president Badriul Hegar said Friday.

This is much higher than the MDGs target, which is 20 per 1,000 live births, Badriul said.

"This is the result of a shortage of health professionals and low living standards in remote areas, especially in eastern Indonesia, such as Papua and Nusa Tenggara."

Health Ministry data shows that 21 percent of 4.5 million babies born in Indonesia each year are delivered by traditional midwives, largely in eastern Indonesia.

Traditional midwives, who do not receive formal training in midwifery, help villagers where there is a lack of community health centers, Badriul said.

"However, most probably don't understand how to handle patients with proper medical procedures," he said.

"Traditional midwives might not know how to keep their equipment sterile, for example. If they use unsterilized scissors to cut the placenta, for example, ... women and babies may get infections."

Speaking at a talk show on infant mortality, Badriul said infections could quickly weaken babies and put their lives in danger.

"Traditional midwives can be helpful if they are given proper training," he told The Jakarta Post.

"However, I recommend women visit midwives or doctors to seek consultation about their pregnancies, and also when they are about to give birth to make sure their babies are born healthy."

Traditional midwives often helped local women to give birth when there were no community health centers nearby, he said.

Health Ministry Public Health Director General Budihardja said his office had introduced a program involving partnerships between traditional and medical midwives.

The program involves traditional midwives after the birthing process, he said.

"Traditional midwives refer women who are about to give birth to medical midwives who help them give birth," Budiharja told the Post.

Traditional midwives then help mothers by giving them treatments after they give birth, he said.

"The medical midwives will pay the traditional midwives to help the mothers."

The program aims to reduce the number of traditional midwives in villages, and to motivate people to come to medical midwives or doctors. Budihardja did not say how many traditional midwives there were in Indonesia.