Mothers’ Experiences of Delivery Services by Traditional Birth Attendants at Egbe Community, Yagba West Lga Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

A lot of women gave birth in their homes historically, and are often attended by a family member or assisted by a woman residing in the communities who are known as Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs).The mothers’ experiences before labor, after delivery and care of the new born was a mixed one. This study was aimed to explore mothers’ that have delivered with TBAs in the past at Egbe Community, Yagba West Local Government Area, Kogi State, Nigeria. The study employed a qualitative research design with in-depth interview supported with two Focus Group Discussions as method of data collection, to explore the experiences of mothers’ during with TBAs. Sixteen participants were used for FGD, eight in each group and thirteen participants for one-on-one in-depth interview using a snowball sampling technique. Both the FGD and IDI sessions were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. The research was analysed using a manual method of qualitative data. The findings revealed that majority of the participants used the services of traditional birth attendants because of the affordable cost. Majority were delivered at their homes and they had good experience. Relatives were allowed to stay with them during labor. They were not given food during labor and their babies were taken good care of. However, few of them would like to deliver at a regular hospital in next delivery due to some complications they experienced. In conclusion, many of the women patronized TBAs because of the cost and services provided were just basic. Therefore, it’s recommended that the cost of delivery at the hospitals should be subsidised and the TBAs should be trained and supervised on a regular basis by the Primary health care centres at the Local Government Areas nearest to them.