"We have been working overnight without sleeping": traditional birth attendants' practices and perceptions of post-partum care services in rural Tanzania

Factors affecting the provision of high-quality postnatal care services in Zanzibar: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the postnatal period is associated with high mortality and accounts for a substantial proportion of maternal deaths. Although postnatal care has been identified as critical in reducing maternal mortality, the quality of care provided is often inadequate. Tanzania and Zanzibar have not made sufficient progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals on maternal health, and there is limited knowledge about the utilization and quality of postnatal follow-up. The aim of this study was therefore to explore factors affecting the provision of high-quality postnatal care services in the urban area of Zanzibar.

METHODS

Five focus group discussions were performed in Swahili with 25 healthcare providers from primary healthcare units in urban Zanzibar. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated into English, and analysed using qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach.

RESULTS

Factors affecting provision of high-quality postpartum care services could be divided into three generic categories. Difficulty achieving high attendance comprised three subcategories: long waiting times, low awareness among women, and out-of-pocket payment. Lack of basic resources also comprised three subcategories: shortage of healthcare providers, lack of adequate space, and inadequate medical equipment. Insufficient care routines comprised two subcategories: lack of guidelines and deficient chain of information.

CONCLUSIONS

The present findings suggest that the women's perceptions of postnatal care do not align with the intended purpose of routine postnatal care. Instead, the postnatal period primarily leads to visits to health facilities only when urgent care is required, and there is a lack of awareness about the importance of postnatal care. Moreover, limited resources, including equipment, staff, and space, as well as long waiting times, hinder the delivery of high-quality care and contribute to a negative reputation of postnatal care services. To effectively reach all women and improve postnatal care, it is necessary to increase basic resources, modify health education approaches, and enhance the flow of information between different levels of care using context-specific strategies.

Perceived differences on the role of traditional birth attendants in rural Tanzania: a qualitative study

Background

In many low to middle income countries, traditional birth attendants (TBAs) play various roles (e.g., provision of health education, referral to hospitals, and delivery support) that can potentially improve women’s access to healthcare. In Tanzania, however, the formal healthcare systems have not acknowleded the role of the TBAs. TBAs’ contributions are limited and are not well described in policy documents. This study aimed to examine the perspectives of both TBAs and skilled birth attendants (SBAs) to clarify the role of TBAs and issues impacting their inclusion in rural Tanzania.

Methods

We used a qualitative descriptive design with triangulation of investigators, methods, and data sources. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 TBAs and focus group discussions with 21 SBAs in Kiswahili language to ask about TBAs’ activities and needs. The data obtained were recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. Two researchers conducted the content analysis.

Results

Content analysis of data from both groups revealed TBAs’ three primary roles: emergency delivery assistance, health education for the community, and referrals. Both TBAs and SBAs mentioned that one strength that the TBAs had was that they supported women based on the development of a close relationship with them. TBAs mentioned that, while they do not receive substantial remuneration, they experience joy/happiness in their role. SBAs indicated that TBAs sometimes did not refer women to the hospital for their own benefit. TBAs explained that the work issues they faced were mainly due to insufficient resources and unfavorable relationships with hospitals. SBAs were concerned that TBAs’ lacked formal medical training and their actions could interfere with SBAs’ professional work. Although there were no between-group interactions at the time of this study, both groups expressed willingness to collaborate/communicate to ensure the health and lives of mothers and babies.

Conclusions

TBAs and SBAs have different perceptions of TBAs’ knowledge and skills, but agreed that TBAs need further training/inclusion. Such collaboration could help build trust, improve positive birth experiences of mothers in rural Tanzania, and promote nationwide universal access to maternal healthcare.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12884-021-03611-0.

Determinants for choice of home birth over health facility birth among women of reproductive age in Tanzania: an analysis of data from the 2015-16 Tanzania demographic and health survey and malaria indicator survey

Background

While evidence has shown an association between place of birth and birth outcomes, factors contributing to the choice of home birth have not been adequately investigated in Tanzania while more than 30% of deliveries occur outside of health care facilities, and more than 95% of those deliveries are assisted by non-medical providers who are often unskilled. The use of unskilled birth attendants has been cited as a factor contributing to the high maternal and neonatal mortalities in low-resources countries. This study aimed to identify determinants of choice for home birth over health care facility birth in Tanzania.

Method:

This study used the 2015-16 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey (2015-16 TDHS-MIS) dataset. A total of 2286 women of reproductive age (15–49 years) who gave birth within one year preceding the survey were included in the analysis. Both univariate and multivariable regression analyses were used to determine predictors for the choice of home-based childbirth over health care facility delivery.

Results

A total of 805 (35.2%) women had a home birth. After adjusting for confounders, the determinants for choice of home birth were: the level of education (primary education [AOR = 0.666; p = 0.001]; secondary and higher education [AOR = 0.417; p < 0.001]), in reference to no formal education; not owning a mobile phone (AOR = 1.312; p = 0.018); parity (parity 2–4 [AOR = 1.594; p = 0.004], parity 5 and above [AOR = 2.158; p < 0.001] in reference to parity 1); inadequate antenatal visits (AOR = 1.406; p = 0.001); wealth index (poorest (AOR = 9.395, p < 0.001); poorer (AOR = 7.701; p < 0.001); middle (AOR = 5.961; p < 0.001); richer (AOR = 2.557; p < 0.001)] in reference to richest women; and Zones (Southern Highlands, [AOR = 0.189; p < 0.001]; Southern, [AOR = 0.225; p < 0.001]; Zanzibar, [AOR = 2.55; p < 0.001]) in reference to Western zone.

Conclusions

A large proportion of women birth at home. Unskilled providers such as traditional birth attendants (TBAs), relatives or friends attend most of them. Predictors for home-based childbirth included lack of formal education, poor access to telecommunication, poor uptake of antenatal visits, low socio-economic status, and geographical zone. Innovative strategies targeting these groups are needed to increase the use of health care facilities for childbirth, thereby reducing maternal and neonatal mortality in Tanzania.

Factors influencing adoption of facility-assisted delivery - a qualitative study of women and other stakeholders in a Maasai community in Ngorongoro District, Tanzania

Background

Tanzania’s One Plan II health sector program aims to increase facility deliveries from 50 to 80% from 2015 to 2020. Success is uneven among certain Maasai pastoralist women in Northern Tanzania who robustly prefer home births to facility births even after completing 4+ ANC visits. Ebiotishu Oondomonok Ongera (EbOO) is a program in Nainokanoka ward to promote facility births through a care-group model using trained traditional birth attendants (TBAs) as facilitators. Results to date are promising but show a consistent gap between women completing ANC and those going to a facility for delivery. A qualitative study was conducted to understand psychosocial preferences, agency for decision-making, and access barriers that influence where a woman in the ward will deliver.

Methods

In-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key-informant interviews were conducted with 24 pregnant and/or parous women, 24 TBAs, 3 nurse midwives at 3 health facilities, and 24 married men, living in Nainokanoka ward. Interviews and discussions were transcribed, translated, and analyzed thematically using a grounded theory approach.

Results

Most women interviewed expressed preference for a home birth with a TBA and even those who expressed agency and preference for a facility birth usually had their last delivery at home attributed to unexpected labor. TBAs are engaged by husbands and play a significant influential role in deciding place of delivery. TBAs report support for facility deliveries but in practice use them as a last resort, and a significant trust gap was documented based on a bad experience at a facility where women in labor were turned away.

Conclusions

EbOO project data and study results show a slow but steady change in norms around delivery preference in Nainokanoka ward. Gaps between expressed intention and practice, especially around ‘unexpected labor’ present opportunities to accelerate this process by promoting birth plans and perhaps constructing a maternity waiting house in the ward. Rebuilding trust between facility midwives, TBAs, and the community on the availability of health facility services, and increased sensitivity to women’s cultural preferences, could also close the gap between the number of women who are currently using facilities for ANC and those returning for delivery.

An account for barriers and strategies in fulfilling women's right to quality maternal health care: a qualitative study from rural Tanzania

Background

Tanzania has ratified and abides to legal treaties indicating the obligation of the state to provide essential maternal health care as a basic human right. Nevertheless, the quality of maternal health care is disproportionately low. The current study sets to understand maternal health services’ delivery from the perspective of rural health workers’, and to understand barriers for and better strategies for realization of the right to quality maternal health care.

Methods

Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted, involving 11 health workers mainly; medical attendants, enrolled nurses and Assistant Medical Officers from primary health facilities in rural Tanzania. Structured observation complemented data from interviews. Interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis guided by the conceptual framework of the right to health.

Results

Three themes emerged that reflected health workers’ opinion towards the quality of health care services; “It’s hard to respect women’s preferences”, “Striving to fulfill women’s needs with limited resources”, and “Trying to facilitate women’s access to services at the face of transport and cost barriers”.

Conclusion

Health system has left health workers as frustrated right holders, as well as dis-empowered duty bearers. This was due to the unavailability of adequate material and human resources, lack of motivation and lack of supervision, which are essential for provision of quality maternal health care services. Pregnant women, users of health services, appeared to be also left as frustrated right holders, who incurred out-of-pocket costs to pay for services, which were meant to be provided free.

"Once the delivery is done, they have finished": a qualitative study of perspectives on postnatal care referrals by traditional birth attendants in Ebonyi state, Nigeria

Background

While 79% of Nigerian mothers who deliver in facilities receive postnatal care within 48 h of delivery, this is only true for 16% of mothers who deliver outside facilities. Most maternal deaths can be prevented with access to timely and competent health care. Thus, the World Health Organization, International Confederation of Midwives, and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics recommend that unskilled birth attendants be involved in advocacy for skilled care use among mothers. This study explores postnatal care referral behavior by TBAs in Nigeria, including the perceived factors that may deter or promote referrals to skilled health workers.

Methods

This study collected qualitative data using focus group discussions involving 28 female health workers, TBAs, and TBA delivery clients. The study conceptual framework drew on constructs in Fishbein and Ajzen’s theory of reasoned action onto which we mapped hypothesized determinants of postnatal care referrals described in the empirical literature. We analyzed the transcribed data thematically, and linked themes to the study conceptual framework in the discussion to explain variation in TBA referral behavior across the maternal continuum, from the antenatal to postnatal period.

Results

Differences in TBA referral before, during, and after delivery appear to reflect the TBAs understanding of the added value of skilled care for the client and the TBA, as well as the TBA’s perception of the implications of referral for her credibility as a maternal care provider among her clients. We also found that there are opportunities to engage TBAs in routine postnatal care referrals to facilities in Nigeria by using incentives and promoting a cordial relationship between TBAs and skilled health workers.

Conclusions

Thus, despite the potential negative consequences TBAs may face with postnatal care referrals, there are opportunities to promote these referrals using incentives and promoting a cordial relationship between TBAs and skilled health workers. Further research is needed on the interactions between postnatal maternal complications, TBA referral behavior, and maternal perception of TBA competence.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-017-1616-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Understanding the preference for homebirth; an exploration of key barriers to facility delivery in rural Tanzania

BACKGROUND

There is limited information on the effect of expectant parents' socio-cultural perceptions and practices on the use of skilled birth attendants (SBAs) in rural Tanzania. The purpose of this study was to explore the socio-cultural barriers to health facility birth and SBA among parents choosing home birth in rural Tanzania, specifically in the Rukwa Region.

METHODS

This study used a descriptive exploratory methodology. Purposive sampling was used to recruit study participants for both in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focused group discussions (FGDs). Qualitative research methods, including FGDs and IDIs, were utilized in data collection. The respondents were men and women whose youngest child had been born at home within the prior 12 months. A thematic approach was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

The main themes that emerged regarding barriers to the use of health facility were 1) limited decision-making by men on place of delivery; 2) low risk perception by men and its interference with health facility birth; 3) men's limited resource mobilization for health facility birth and 4) females' perceptions that pregnancy and childbirth are low-risk events.

CONCLUSION

This qualitative study demonstrates that apart from well-documented structural barriers to skilled birth attendance in rural Tanzania, the low risk perception among both men and women plays a substantial role. The low risk perception among both men and women affects the use of SBAs in two ways. First, women become negligent and take risk of delivering at home. Second, male partners do not seriously mobilize resources for health facility childbirth. These findings reinforce the urgent need to implement creative programs to increase genuine male participation in facilitation of health facility childbirth.

Women's perceptions of antenatal, delivery, and postpartum services in rural Tanzania

Background

Maternal health care provision remains a major challenge in developing countries. There is agreement that the provision of quality clinical services is essential if high rates of maternal death are to be reduced. However, despite efforts to improve access to these services, a high number of women in Tanzania do not access them. The aim of this study is to explore women's views about the maternal health services (pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum period) that they received at health facilities in order to identify gaps in service provision that may lead to low-quality maternal care and increased risks associated with maternal morbidity and mortality in rural Tanzania.

Design

We gathered qualitative data from 15 focus group discussions with women attending a health facility after child birth and transcribed it verbatim. Qualitative content analysis was used for analysis.

Results

‘Three categories emerged that reflected women's perceptions of maternal health care services: “mothers perceive that maternal health services are beneficial,” “barriers to accessing maternal health services” such as availability and use of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) and the long distances between some villages, and “ambivalence regarding the quality of maternal health services” reflecting that women had both positive and negative perceptions in relation to quality of health care services offered’.

Conclusions

Mothers perceived that maternal health care services are beneficial during pregnancy and delivery, but their awareness of postpartum complications and the role of medical services during that stage were poor. The study revealed an ambivalence regarding the perceived quality of health care services offered, partly due to shortages of material resources. Barriers to accessing maternal health care services, such as the cost of transport and the use of TBAs, were also shown. These findings call for improvement on the services provided. Improvements should address, accessibility of services, professionals' attitudes and stronger promotion of the importance of postpartum check-ups, both among health care professionals and women.