Delivering quality healthcare services and meeting health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are severely restricted by the need for more skilled caregiver workers, in addition to issues such as inadequate funding, gaps in the supply of essential medications, and various service delivery limitations. This labour shortage, more common in middle and low-income countries, has caused renewed interest in growing community caregiver worker programmes. Various developing countries are making collective attempts to improve the procurement and assignment of caregiver professionals, including creating new classifications for community childbirth workers.
These people, who may go by different names and have diverse responsibilities in the community or medical facilities, are vital to improving health outcomes. Community caregiver professionals work unpaid and volunteer their services, whereas other community caregiver workers are paid for their jobs. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world, with an estimated 814 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. This is a major public childbirth issue that requires urgent attention and action.
Pregnant women lack access to quality childbirth due to facility shortages.
Several strategies can be implemented to improve childbirth in the country and reduce parental mortality and morbidity. These strategies include increasing access to quality childbirth services, strengthening childbirth systems, promoting Family Planning and reproductive services, and addressing social and cultural factors that affect childbirth. This includes ensuring that pregnant women have access to skilled birth attendants, emergency obstetric care, and essential childbirth services such as antenatal care, postnatal care, and family planning services. Many pregnant women in the country do not have access to these services, either due to a lack of vitality facilities or financial challenges.
To address this issue, the Nigerian government and caregiver providers need to invest more resources in childbirth services, particularly in rural and underserved areas. This could involve building more facilities, training more skilled birth attendants, and providing Subsidies or other financial incentives for pregnant women to seek care. Likewise, efforts should be made to strengthen the country’s childbirth system to ensure parental services are delivered effectively and efficiently. This could involve developing and implementing policies and guidelines for parental services, improving Infrastructure and equipment in childbirth facilities, and training caregiver workers to provide quality care.
Women used modern contraceptives less, resulting in a low prevalence rate.
Family planning can also be promoted to help women and families space their pregnancies and prevent unintended pregnancies, which can reduce the risk of childbirth mortality and morbidity. In Nigeria, the contraceptive prevalence rate is low, with only 15.1 percent of married women using modern contraceptives. The government and care providers need to increase awareness about the importance of family planning and make contraceptives more accessible and affordable. This could involve conducting public awareness campaigns, training caregiver workers to provide family planning counselling and services, and providing contraceptives free of charge or at a reduced cost.
Many women in the country face challenges in accessing childbirth services due to social and cultural norms that restrict their mobility, decision-making power, and autonomy. In some communities, women are not allowed to seek care from male caregiver providers or are required to obtain permission from their husbands or in-laws before seeking care. To address these limitations, efforts should be made to educate communities about the importance of childbirth and women’s rights to access care.
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Community leaders, religious leaders, and traditional birth attendants can promote childbirth and encourage women to seek care. Women’s Empowerment programs that aim to improve women’s status and decision-making power can also help to address social and cultural factors that affect parental care. Lastly, parental care requires a comprehensive approach that includes increasing access to quality childbirth services, strengthening parental systems, promoting family planning and reproductive services, and addressing social and cultural factors that affect childbirth in the country. By implementing these strategies, the government and caregiver providers can reduce parental mortality and morbidity and improve the well-being of women and families.