Factors associated with the choice of traditional birth attendants for delivery by women of child bearing age in isiala ngwa south local government area of abia state, Nigeria

Background: Traditional birth attendants known as TBAs have been the mainstay of maternal and child care in Africa. With the advent of modern methods of child delivery, emphasis has shifted over the years to skilled birth attendance. However, in most developing countries, including Nigeria, where traditional beliefs and cultural practices are still rife, TBAs are still playing a dominant role in child delivery especially in the rural areas. Method:  We adopted a cross-sectional descriptive design to assess the perceptions, knowledge and practices about TBAs and the utilization of TBA services among a sample of 200 purposively selected married women of reproductive age, resident in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State in South-Eastern Nigeria. Result: The finding of the study showed that 59% of the study subjects preferred TBA services to skilled birth attendants’ services. Apart from cultural beliefs and practices, other factors that determined the TBA preference, included:  exorbitant cost of hospital delivery, long waiting time in receiving attention in public hospitals, the humane and friendly services provided by the TBAs compared with the unfriendly disposition of nurses. Conclusions and Recommendations: The study has shown that there is high preference for TBA services in the study area and that to a large extent human and systemic factors are contributory to the higher TBA service uptake. The high proportion of complications reported is a cause for concern although the cases were referred to the hospital. TBAs in the local government area should be trained by the relevant health authorities to recognize danger signs of pregnancies and labour and to refer same on time for skilled management.