Assessing Childbirth-related Complications at the Community Level in Kenya

Evidence from published literature is scanty on the effect of various categories of health providers in averting serious child birth related complications at the community level. For instance, no one knows what happens to pregnancy outcomes for both the mother and the baby in a context where a significant proportion of women are delivered by neighbors, relatives or on their own. Literature is also scanty regarding the outcomes of child birth related complications in situations where Traditional Birth Attendants conduct a significant proportion of deliveries. A thorough understanding of factors that fuel disrespect and abuse as well as their effect on utilization of delivery services will help providers and programme managers to explore ways of addressing this issue. This study hypothesizes that since majority of deliveries take place at the household level, most complications and even deaths are likely to occur at this level. The overall objective of this study is to determine the effect of provider type in the occurrence and management of serious childbirth related complications among postpartum women at the community level in Bungoma and Lugari Districts of Western Province, Kenya. Specific objectives of the study are: To determine the quality of obstetric care given by community midwives and TBAs to clients seeking antenatal care, during delivery and post-partum care at the community level by assessing providers' preparedness and the range of services offered. To assess the nature of obstetric complications among those women who were delivered by skilled health providers, versus those who were delivered by TBAs, neighbors, friends or on their own To determine the role of socio-economic, demographic and health service related factors in the occurrence of child birth related complications at the community level To obtain views from key stakeholders on the extent and occurrence of child birth related complications at the community level