abstract
- To increase the number of deliveries with skilled birth attendants (SBAs) in Kenyan health facilities, with assistance from traditional birth attendants (TBAs).In the Yatta district of Kenya, TBAs were recruited to attend meetings in which they were encouraged to educate pregnant women about the importance of delivering in health facilities; they were offered a small stipend for each pregnant woman they brought to a facility for SBA delivery. The primary outcome was the percentage of prenatal care patients who delivered at intervention health facilities compared with control facilities.During the year preceding the intervention, 102/524 (19.5%) and 413/2068 (20.0%) prenatal care patients had SBA deliveries at intervention and control facilities, respectively. During the 1-year study period, 217/440 (49.3%) prenatal care patients delivered at intervention health facilities and 415/1995 (20.8%) delivered at control facilities (P<0.001). Deliveries at intervention facilities increased 113% in the study year compared with the preceding year.The rate of SBA births in health facilities increased when TBAs were recruited and compensated for bringing women to local health facilities to deliver.Copyright © 2012 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.