CHOICE OF BIRTHPLACE AND USE OF BIRTH ATTENDANTS AMONG CHILD BEARING WOMEN IN AKANU, OHAFIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ABIA STATE NIGERIA

📄 Project Abstract

The choice of birthplace and use birth attendant during delivery is very important for women and their families because it determines to a large extent the outcome of pregnancies and child births. Access to quality healthcare during pregnancy and in particular, during delivery is a crucial factor in explaining the huge disparity in maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality between developing and the industrialized world. (Gayawan,2012) Every year, 3.3 million babies are stillborn and maternal deaths have also continued unabated. More than half a million women die of pregnancy related complications with ninety-nine percent (99%) of these deaths occurring in developing regions particularly Africa and Asia. (WHO 2005). The implication is that every minute, at least a woman dies from pregnancy and childbirth in these regions. . Comparing with other regions of the world, the lifetime risk of maternal deaths in sub Saharan Africa is 1 in 22 mothers. North Africa has 1 in 210, 1 in 62 ...