KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES OF QUALITY CHILD DELIVERY SERVICES AMONG TRADITIONAL BIRTH ATTENDANTS IN IBADAN METROPOLIS OF OYO STATE NIGERIA.

Abstract

Maternal mortality remains high in many Low Middle-Income Countries and, in particular, sub-Saharan Africa with Nigeria having the third highest burden. With staggering statistics of national average of 1047 maternal deaths per every 100,000 live births as at 2022, calls for a national response. This quasi-experimental study aims to assess the impact of training in the knowledge and skills capacity of informal workers providing maternal child health services in Ibadan metropolis. The experimental research design was conducted with the probability sampling of 187 TBAs, using a modified structure questionnaire to assess their knowledge of pre-natal, intra-labour, immediate newborn care, managing infection and complication, referral and post-partum care. The study employed a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative structure design, using interviewer-administered questionnaires. The quantitative data collected was processed with SPSS version 27 software, and descriptive and inferential statistics were used to find answers to the 60 questions asked. Paired T-test was used to test the hypothesis of the study using a 0.05 level of significance. This study showed that the knowledge level of 92 respondents at baseline and end line across various domains of maternal child health care services showed notable changes for prenatal, intra-labor, management of infections or complications, postpartum, and referral systems. The level of overall knowledge improved from 28.5 +- 6.8 at baseline to 32.4+- 5.0 at endline, and skills showed substantial improvement as the paired t-test revealed significant differences in knowledge and skills between the control and intervention group. Therefore, the intervention revealed that training TBAs as a purposive capacity-building effort is the surest way to improve maternal health outcomes, especially for the urban poor and rural community residents where TBA services are available, accessible, and affordable to the people

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