Knowledge and practice of antenatal care among traditional birth attendants in Southern Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and practice of antenatal care, among traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in the Southern Cross River State, Nigeria. The research utilized a descriptive survey design and Yaro Yamane’s formula was used to select the 191 TBAs) from the four local government areas in the study area. A validated questionnaire constructed by the researchers was used to obtain data. Information obtained from the questionnaire was subjected to descriptive statistics using percentages. The data were analyzed with the aid of the software program Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 18. Although the findings from the study showed that the majority of the TBAs had adequate knowledge and they carried out good practices their knowledge and practice can be contested as those without adequate knowledge 18 (19.5%) for health education on nutrition, danger signs of pregnancy, 76 (44.4%) for a number of antenatal visits the pregnant women needs and 36 (21.1%) do not know the importance of tetanus toxoid while 12 (7.0%) have no idea about folic acid tablet; a routine drug given during pregnancy to prevent anemia indicate clearly the risk the women face when they seek care services from such TBAs. The findings also revealed that there is no significant relationship between any of the socio-demographic variables and their knowledge of antenatal care, labor, and postpartum except religious denomination and their settlement (P > 0.05). There was also no significant (P > 0.005) association between practice distribution and sociodemographic variables. This study concludes that although the TBAs were observed to have some good knowledge and practice of antenatal care based on the questions asked, the information provided is not sufficient enough to warrant them to care for the pregnant women alone.