Examining the unresolved conundrum of Traditional Birth Attendants’ involvement in maternal and child health care delivery in Ghana

Abstract

Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) have been a critical human resource in maternal health care delivery in Ghana. However, following the World Health Organization’s directive for countries to discontinue using TBAs, the government of Ghana has since emphasized the use of skilled birth attendants. This policy shift created tensions between TBAs and Community Health Nurses. We examine this conundrum in this paper. We find that despite the ban, TBAs still attend a significant number of births – a situation which has produced intense contestations and continuous jostling for “functioning space” and clients between TBAs and nurses. We recommend a consensus-based partnership approach that promotes cultural competence and is sensitive to contextual cultural practices that underpin pregnancy and childbirth.

Note

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the journal editors and reviewers for their constructive comments. We are also grateful to Professor Isaac Luginaah for his suggestions and comments on initial drafts of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The number of live births per 1000 women aged 15 to 49 years in a given year.