Objective: To obtain socioeconomic information about TBAs in the State of Pernambuco and information concerning their practices. Method: Statistical analysis of the answers to structured questionnaires applied to 127 TBAs. Results: The results of a survey with 127 TBAs conducted in the rural area of the State of Pernambuco (Brazil) is presented in this paper. TBAs in rural Pernambuco are a group of basically old and very poor and uneducated women. Most of them learned to attend births by themselves or by helping another TBA. Thirty percent learned midwifery in hospital delivery rooms, helping doctors and nurses. How the TBAs learned to help births seemed to be the most influential factor on the kind of practices they use. TBAs who learned from other TBAs from the community seem to have the least interventionist approach, followed by the TBAs who learned by themselves. They are more likely to perform more home births and avoid practices such as shaving the pubic hair, vaginal exams, artificial rupture of the membranes, episiotomy and early cord clamping. Conclusion: The way women learned midwifery is the most important determinant of their practice.