Perception and Uptake of Focused Antenatal Care among Skilled Birth Attendants in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria (Published)
The replacement of the traditional antenatal care service model with focused antenatal care (FANC) has been viewed with mixed feelings by skilled birth attendants. This study therefore, assessed skill birth attendants’ perception and uptake of focused antenatal care at University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City. A descriptive cross-sectional design that utilized convenient sampling to recruit 229 participants comprising of doctors, midwives and nurses from the various obstetrics departments participated in the study. Consent was obtained from the participants and was voluntary. A semi-structured questionnaire with a reliability of 0.72 was used for data collection. Data were analysed using frequencies, percentages and chi-square with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21. Results revealed that 82.4% of the respondents had good knowledge of FANC, while 69.2% of the respondents used FANC, only 2.4% had wrong perception of it usage. Moreover, 48.8% of the respondents had poor level of FANC uptake, 25.6% of respondents had fair uptake of FANC, while 25.6% have good level of its uptake. In addition, a significant association was found between professionals and uptake of focused antenatal care among the skilled birth attendants, while no significant association found between perception and uptake of focused antenatal care among the skilled birth attendants.It is therefore concluded that skilled birth attendants’ knowledge is high and they had positive and good perception to focused antenatal care however their uptake is poor.
Keywords: Antenatal Care, maternal mortality and skilled birth attendant., pregnancy
Social Support during Pregnancy among Pregnant Women in Ibadan, Nigeria (Published)
Pregnant women with low social support were reported to have symptoms of depression during and after pregnancy, and it has been established that this has implication on complication during child birth. This study aimed at examining the knowledge, attitude and perception of pregnant women about social support during pregnancy. A descriptive cross sectional research design was adopted and questionnaire with reliability 0.82 was used to gather data from 208 pregnant women selected through simple random sampling technique. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Findings revealed a good perception but negative attitude towards social support. There was a significant association between age and level of social support; marital status and level of social support; number of delivery and level of social support. Identified barriers to social support during pregnancy include poor family income, spouses’ nature of job and hospital policy.
Keywords: Antenatal Care, Childbirth., Maternal Health, Social Support, pregnancy
Assessment of the Factors Influencing Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness among Pregnant Women: A Case of Selected Health Care Facilities in Eldoret, Kenya (Published)
Evitable mortality and morbidity remains a formidable challenge in many developing countries, Kenya among them. Countering this challenge due to birth complications then becomes a critical area of concern. The principle and practice of Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness (BP/CR) in resource-poor settings have the potential of reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality rates. This paper aims to assess the factors that influence BP/CR among pregnant women attending Antenatal care in selected Health Care Facilities in Eldoret, Kenya. The current maternal mortality ratio is 488 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births (KDHS 2008-9). Most of these deaths occur due to the five leading causes: severe bleeding/hemorrhage (25%), infections (13%), unsafe abortions (13%), eclampsia (12%), obstructed labor (8%), other direct causes (8%), and indirect causes (20%). It is important to note that most of these deaths can be prevented by proper ANC attendances and ensuring the presence of a skilled birth attendant during delivery and/or in case of any complications (Omolo & Kizito, 2010). The study used a descriptive cross sectional approach. Pregnant women seeking antenatal services in 3 health care facilities (Eldoret West Health Centre, Huruma and Uasin Gishu District Hospitals) formed the target population from which a sample size of 273 was obtained using fisher’s formula. Data collection was done using questionnaire and analyzed using the SPSS software. Results are presented in tables and narratives. Among the factors established to be the most predictors included maternal education, source of income, pregnancy planning and attendance of Antenatal Care. The study recommends emphasis of Antenatal care education on birth preparedness and complication readiness to improve access to skilled and emergency obstetric care.
Keywords: Antenatal Care, Birth Preparedness, Complication Readiness, Kenya
Post Natal Experience of Women with Midwives during Labour at Meru Level 5 Hospital, Kenya (Published)
A lot has been written on midwives’ experience on women in labour, but there is little discussion on women’s experience at childbirth. Women fear giving birth in hospitals, due to mistreatment by health workers. Early 2011, the Minister for Public Health was reported in the local media to have wondered why women opted to deliver at home, despite hospitals offering delivery services. She suggested that research needs to be conducted to find out why few women were delivering in the hospitals. In a study conducted in Kisumu, majority of women though using Traditional Birth Attendant (TBAs) for delivery, acknowledged hospitals and skilled attendants as their preferred source of delivery care. This paper explores the experience of women at child birth with the midwife. The study was undertaken at Meru level 5 hospital using Exploratory/ Descriptive design. Post natal women who undergoing normal delivery were the target population. Purposive sampling was used to select fifteen participants from the post natal women who met the inclusion criteria for the study. Interviews were used to gather information from the participants, after which it was recorded with their consent. The following were the study findings; that some women in labour are physically and psychologically abused, they lack continuity of care, they are not prepared on what to expect during labour, they are never informed of findings after being examined, they do not establish a relationship with the caregivers, they feel that it is necessary to persevere despite the pain and finally it is fine to deliver while being watched by other women in labour. Despite those feelings, many of the participants said they were satisfied with the care received. There is need to adjust hospital policies to support the use of interventions proven to be of benefit to women during childbirth, and develop approaches that ensure changes in midwifery practice
Keywords: Antenatal Care, Hospital, Midwife, Postnatal Care, Traditional Birth Attendant.