Use of skilled birth attendants

The maternal health social audit in Bauchi and Cross River states in 2009 collected information on the use of skilled birth attendants. We considered skilled birth attendants to include qualified doctors, nurses, midwives, community health extension workers, and officers in charge of health facilities.

In Bauchi, skilled birth personnel had attended 22% of the last deliveries among recently pregnant women. In Cross River, skilled birth personnel attended 56% of all recent deliveries.

Across both states, delivery with a skilled birth attendant was more common in urban areas than in rural areas. In Bauchi, a little more than half of urban women gave birth with a skilled birth attendant while only about one in 10 of all rural women gave birth with the help of a skilled birth attendant. In Cross River, the situation was more balanced among urban and rural areas – 68% of urban women and a little over half of all rural women gave birth with a skilled attendant.

Across both states, women who received antenatal care in their last pregnancy were much more likely to deliver with a skilled birth attendant than women who did not receive antenatal care. In Bauchi, women with some formal education were more likely to deliver with a skilled birth attendant than those with no formal education. In Cross River, it was women with junior or higher education who were twice as likely to deliver with a skilled birth attendant.

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