Well-educated middle class women and their preference for traditional rather than skilled birth attendants in Lagos Nigeria a qualitative study

Aderinwale, Adetayo Seun2021-09-082026-06-102021-09-082026-06-102021https://hdl.handle.net/10566/23694Master of Public Health - MPHBackground:Theoutcomeofpregnanciesinmanyinstancesislargelypredicatedon availabilityofSkilledBirthAttendants(SBAs).Despitethisphenomenon,illiteracyand financialdisadvantagehavebeenvariouslycitedastwinfactorspromotingtheinterest andpatronageofTraditionalBirthAttendants(TBAs)bywomenfolk.Itistherefore expected thatwomenhavingtertiarylevelofeducationandpossessing adequate economic resources would naturally prefer to use the SBAs.However,these http://etd.uwc.ac.za/ 9 observationshavenotsignificantlyreflected therealityin thechoiceofmaternal healthcareprovidersinNigeriaandthecityofLagosinparticular.Yet,accessto maternalservicesoftheSBAshasbeenwidelyacceptedasoneoftheleadingwaysof loweringmaternalmortality.Therefore,inordertoimprovethepatronageofSBAsand correspondinglylowermaternaldeathrates,itbecomesimperativetounderstandthe rationalebehindthepreferencefortheTBAs’usebywomenwhoarenotordinarily expectedtodosobyvirtueoftheirhighlevelofeducationandgoodfinancialcapacity. Aim:Theaim ofthisstudywastoexploreandunderstandtheexperiences,perception and beliefsystems influencing well-educated,middle income women and their reasoningfortheuseofTraditionalBirthAttendantsratherthanSkilledBirthAttendants fordeliveryservicesinLagos,Nigeria. Methodology:ThisisaqualitativestudyconductedinAlimoshoLocalGovernmentArea ofLagosinNigeria.Tenwomenwithtertiarylevelofeducationandbelongingtomiddle incomeeconomiccategorieswereenrolledasparticipants.Inaddition,itinvolved3 FocusGroupDiscussionscomprising7TraditionalBirthAttendantspergroup. Results:Behaviouraland attitudinalshortcomings by the SBAs;misconceptions regardingsurgicaldeliverybywomen;bureaucraticdelaysandbottlenecksexperienced attheSBAs’centres;thebeliefbythewomenthatpregnancyisasacredandspiritual eventwhichonlytheTBAshaveabilitytomanage;women’sconfidenceintheTBAsas havingbettercapacitytomanagecertaincoexistingmedicalconditionsinpregnancy; andmisinformationonmanagementmodalitiesforcertainconditionslikeinfertilityand fibroidallcombinetoinfluencepreferenceforutilizationofTBAsbywell-educated, middleincomewomeninthestudyarea.enAntenatal ClinicNational demographic health surveyUniversity of the Western CapeWorld Health OrganizationWell-educated middle class women and their preference for traditional rather than skilled birth attendants in Lagos Nigeria a qualitative studyUniversity of the Western Cape