Role of Traditional Birth Attendants in Preventing HIV Transmission in Nigeria

Abstract Background: Nigeria is a country with the largest number of pediatric HIV infections in the world. Scholars who study mother-to-child HIV transmission in Nigeria have concluded that Nigeria’s failure to reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission can be explained in whole or in part by the fact that many Nigerian women use traditional birth attendants for their prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum care which may not include prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission services. The study explored qualitatively the role(s), expectations, and future training needs of Nigerian traditional birth attendants in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) Methods: We recruited and interviewed a convenience sample of 30 traditional birth attendants and 30 mothers from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Interviews were conducted in English and Ibibio (the local language) at a comfortable and neutral location and recorded with an audio device. The audio data was transcribed verbatim and subjected to qualitative content analysis. Results: Traditional Birth Attendants play vital roles in maternal and child health and provide antenatal, delivery, and post-natal care to a relatively large number of women. Although traditional birth attendants have limited knowledge and skills to prevent HIV infection, they seem to have the potentials for promoting women’s use of PMTCT because some of them were able to provide HIV counselling and testing, linkage and treatment of HIV positive mothers, initiation of ART for HIV exposed infant, delivery, and infant care practices in the context of HIV prevention. Conclusion: Adequate training, supervision, and support, task shifting of basic PMTCT services to TBAs may be useful in the fight against pediatirc HIV infection and will cushion the effect of health care provider shortages. Therefore, formal training, certification, and integration of traditional birth attendants into the health care system should be considered

Complementary and alternative medicine use: Results from a descriptive study of pregnant women in Udi local Government area of Enugu state, Nigeria

Abstract Background The use of CAM by pregnant women is very popular in developed countries. The trend is increasing globally and lack of evidence of safety particularly when used during pregnancy may lead to complications. Pregnancy is a vulnerable period especially during the first trimester. There is scarcity of empirical evidence on CAM use particularly among women in Udi LGA of Enugu State and South East Nigeria. Moreover, studies carried out in Nigeria have been limited to herbal medicine use, which is one aspect of CAM. This study was designed to obtain information on the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine among pregnant women. Methods The study was a cross sectional descriptive survey of 396 pregnant women systematically drawn from twenty political wards in Udi Local Government Area (LGA) of Enugu State. Interviewer administered questionnaire developed by the researchers was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Majority (82.1%) of the pregnant women in Udi LGA used CAM during pregnancy out of which 53.8% had used CAM in previous pregnancies. CAM used ranges from one single type to sixteen different types with biological products eg, herbal tea, herbal mixture being the most commonly used CAM. Whereas most (89.5%) of the CAM used by pregnant women was consumed orally, approximately half of the pregnant women used CAM together with conventional medicine. Conclusion The use of CAM by women during pregnancy was high in Udi LGA. Therefore, maternity care providers especially midwives need to elicit CAM commonly used by women during pregnancy and counsel them appropriately for best care and safety. Researchers should focus on establishing the efficacy of CAM products