Skilled Attendance

Specialist Services in the Indian Rural Public Health System for Maternal and Child Healthcare – A Study of Four States

The present study attempts to examine the role of specialist services in rural public health system of India in the areas of maternal and child healthcare. The study uses primary data collected through a survey of doctors and paramedical staff working at public health facilities regarding availability and quality of the specialist services in gynaecology, paediatrics and anaesthesia.

Antenatal Care Strengthening for Improved Quality of Care in Jimma, Ethiopia: An Effectiveness Study

The aims of this study were to design a participatory antenatal care (ANC) strengthening intervention and assess the implementation process and effectiveness on quality of ANC in Jimma, Ethiopia. [from abstract]

Who is Assisting Women to Deliver Babies within Health Facilities? An Analysis of Deliveries in Four Provinces in Zambia

Skilled birth attendance (SBA) has been shown to reduce maternal mortality and improve birth outcomes. Because skilled professionals are supposed to be present in health facilities, increasing facility deliveries is expected to increase SBA. However, in a country with a critical shortage of skilled health personnel, is this always the case? We present data from three studies conducted in Zambia to understand SBA and delivery practices in health facilities. [from abstract]

Integrated Care for Women, Mothers, Children and Newborns: Approaches and Models for Mental Health, Pediatric and Prenatal Care Settings

“Integrated” behavioral health care most often refers to coordinated primary care and mental health care delivery at a co-located clinical site or psychiatric consultation service to a primary care clinical site. Women’s perinatal medical and mental health is an ideal target for integrated, patient-centered, and family-centered care. [from abstract]

Quality of Intrapartum Care by Skilled Birth Attendants in a Refugee Clinic on the Thai-Myanmar Border: A Survey Using WHO Safe Motherhood Needs Assessment

This manuscript describes the quality of intrapartum care provided by SBAs [Skilled Birth Attendants] in Mae La camp, a low resource, protracted refugee context on the Thai-Myanmar border. [from abstract]

Maternal Satisfaction with the Delivery Services in Assela Hospital, Arsi Zone, Oromia Region

Objective of this paper is to assess maternal satisfaction with the delivery service in Assela hospital, Arsi zone, Oromia region. [from abstract]

Poor Availability of Skilled Birth Attendants in Nigeria: A Case Study of Enugu State Primary Health Care System

The Government of Enugu State plans to offer free perinatal services at the primary health care (PHC) centers in order to improve perinatal outcomes in the state, but it was not clear whether there are skilled birth attendants (SBAs) at the PHC level to implement the program. This study aims to determine whether there are sufficient numbers of SBAs in the public PHC system in Enugu State of Nigeria. [adapted from abstract]

Traditional Birth Attendants and Women's Health Practices: A Case Study of Patani in Southern Nigeria

Despite the existence of modern health facilities in Nigeria, over 58 percent of deliveries take place at home. As outcomes of pregnancy and their sequelae are purely left to the providence of women in many rural communities, the place of delivery is a great determinant of maternal and child morbidity and mortality. [from abstract]

Community Based Skilled Birth Attendants Programme in Bangladesh; Intervention towards Improving Maternal Health

To review the strength and weakness of a community based skilled birth attendant (CSBA) program in Bangladesh. [from abstract]

Traditional Birth Attendance (TBA) in a Health System: What Are The Roles, Benefits and Challenges: A Case Study of Incorporated TBA in Timor-Leste

The study utilized a non-systematic review of the literature using key words such as community health
workers, traditional birth attendants, reproductive health, child health and health outcomes. A case study from
Timor-Leste was also used. [from abstract]

Strengthening Institutions to Improve Public Expenditure Accountability

It is in the context of Ghana’s persistently high number of maternal deaths that the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) is simulating two policy scenarios: (1) Training and deploying Skilled Birth Attendants (SBAs) at health centers in the five worst affected regions of Ghana by the year 2015 and (2) Training and deploying SBAs at district hospitals in the five worst affected regions of Ghana by the same year to find out if one or both will help Ghana achieve, or be close to achieving, the MDG 5 target of a maternal mortality rate of 185 per 100,000 live births by 2015.

Magnitude and Trends of Inequalities in Antenatal Care and Delivery Under Skilled Care Among Different Socio-Demographic Groups in Ghana from 1988 – 2008

Improving maternal and reproductive health still remains a major challenge in most low-income countries especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The growing inequality in access to maternal health interventions is an issue of great concern. In Ghana, inadequate attention has been given to the inequality gap that exists amongst women when accessing antenatal care during pregnancy and skilled attendance at birth.

Nursing and Midwife Staffing Needs in Maternity Wards in Burkina Faso Referral Hospitals

The aim of this study was to measure the capacity of referral hospitals’ maternity services to cope with the demand for health services after the implementation of this policy. [from abstract]

Stakeholder Views on the Incorporation of Traditional Birth Attendants into the Formal Health Systems of Low-and Middle-Income Countries: A Qualitative Analysis of the HIFA2015 and CHILD2015 Email Discussion Forums

Task shifting is seen as a way to improve access to pregnancy and childbirth care. However, the role of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) within task shifting initiatives remains contested. The objective of this study was to explore stakeholder views and justifications regarding the incorporation of TBAs into formal health systems. [from abstract]

Involving Traditional Birth Attendants in Emergency Obstetric Care in Tanzania: Policy Implications of a Study of Their Knowledge and Practices in Kigoma Rural District

This paper reports about knowledge and practices of traditional birth attendants on emergency obstetric care in a rural district of Tanzania and discusses policy implications on involving traditional birth attendants in maternal health services. [adapted from abstract]

When Women Deliver with No One Present in Nigeria: Who, What, Where and So What?

This paper focuses on maternal “no one present” (NOP) deliveries and aims at using empirical data to describe patterns, levels, and correlates of deliveries with NOP in Nigeria. Findings from this study are expected to contribute to policy and program strategy to better address the delivery needs of women in the community. [adapted from author]

Reaching Mothers and Babies with Early Postnatal Home Visits: The Implementation Realities of Achieving High Coverage in Large-Scale Programs

Community-based maternal and newborn care programs with postnatal home visits from providers who can deliver preventive or curative services that save lives have been tested in Bangladesh, Malawi, and Nepal. This paper examines coverage and content of home visits in pilot areas and factors associated with receipt of postnatal visits. [adapted from abstract]

Quality of Intrapartum Care at Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda: Clients' Perspective

The study contributes to quality improvement programs responsible for accelerating reduction of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in Uganda. It documents and informs clinicians, hospital managers, and policy makers about quality of care aspects that need to be improved in promoting newborns and maternal survival and well being during labor to promote women’s utilization of skilled attendance at birth. [from author]

Why Do Some Women Still Prefer Traditional Birth Attendants and Home Delivery? A Qualitative Study on Delivery Care Services in West Java Province, Indonesia

This study aims to explore the perspectives of community members and health workers about the use of delivery care services in six villages of West Java Province where many women still deliver at home and without the assistance of trained birth attendants. [from abstract]

Community Mobilization and Health Management Committee Strengthening to Increase Birth Attendance by Trained Health Workers in Rural Makwanpur, Nepal: Study Protocol for a Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial

This protocol will test the effect of community mobilization through women’s groups, and health management committee strengthening, on institutional deliveries and home deliveries attended by trained health workers. [adapted from abstract]

Regional Multilevel Analysis: Can Skilled Birth Attendants Uniformly Decrease Neonatal Mortality?

The promotion of delivery with a skilled birth attendant (SBA) is being promoted as a strategy to reduce neonatal mortality. This study explored whether SBAs had a protective effect against neonatal mortality in three different regions of the world. [from abstract]

Mobile Phones As a Health Communication Tool to Improve Skilled Attendance at Delivery in Zanzibar: A Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial

This article examined the association between a mobile phone intervention and skilled delivery attendance in a resource-limited setting. [from author]

Why Give Birth in a Health Facility? Users' and Providers' Accounts of Poor Quality of Birth Care in Tanzania

The aim of this study was to describe the weaknesses in the provision of acceptable and adequate quality care through the accounts of women who have suffered obstetric fistula, nurse-midwives at both BEmOC and CEmOC health facilities and local community members. [from abstract]

Delivering at Home or in a Health Facility? Health Seeking Behaviour of Women and the Role of Traditional Birth Attendants in Tanzania

The objectives of this research were to describe women’s health-seeking behaviour and experiences regarding their use of antenatal and postnatal care; their rationale behind the choice of place and delivery; and to learn about the use of traditional practices and resources applied by traditional birth attendants and how they can be linked to the bio-medical health system. [from abstract]

Determinants of Skilled Attendance for Delivery in Northwest Ethiopia: A Community Based Nested Case Control Study

This study identified the determinents for using a skilled birth attendant for delivery in order to give policy recommndations and identify barriers in Ethiopia.

Increasing Access to Safe Abortion Services through Auxiliary Nurse Midwives Trained as Skilled Birth Attendants

This study attempted to determine the best way to implement new strategies of medical abortion and increase safety and access using auxiliary nurse midwives trained as skilled birth attendants [adapted from author].

Determinants of Skilled Birth Attendants for Delivery in Nepal

This review is to explore the factors affecting the uptake of skilled birth attendants for delivery and the issues associated with women’s role and choices of maternal health care service for delivery in Nepal. [from abstract]

Safe Delivery: Reducing Maternal Mortality in Sierra Leone and Burundi

This analysis shows that a program to introduce emergency obstetric care and a referral system rapidly and significantly reduced the level of maternal mortality in two project areas in Burundi and Sierra Leone. [adapated from author]

Effectiveness of Strategies Incorporating Training and Support of Traditional Birth Attendants on Perinatal and Maternal Mortality: Meta-Analysis

The objective of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of strategies incorporating training and support of traditional birth attendants on the outcomes of perinatal, neonatal, and maternal death in developing countries. [from abstract]

Non-Physician Providers of Obstetric Care in Mexico: Perspectives of Physicians, Obstetric Nurses and Professional Midwives

This study compares and contrasts two provider types - obstetric nurses and professional midwives - with the medical model, analyzing perspectives on their respective training, scope of practice, and also their perception and experiences with integration into the public system as skilled birth attendants. [from abstract]