Implications of some Cultural Practices on Maternal Mortality: A Study of some Selected Rural Areas of Kano State Nigeria (original) (raw)
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SOCIO-CULTURAL PRACTICE ON MATERNAL MORTALITY IN IBADAN, OYO STATE, NIGERIA
Nigerian Journal of Clinical and Counselling Psychology. Vol. 17. No. 1: 35-61., 2011
This study examined various factors that contribute to maternal mortality and morbidity in Ibadan, Oyo State. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. Two hundred and sixty four (264) women of child-bearing age were purposively selected for the study. Self structured open and closed ended questionnaire tagged "Socio-Cultural Practice on Maternal Mortality Questionnaire" (SCPMMQ) was used as the instrument for the study. The data were analyzed using linear regression and Pearson correlation statistical analysis. Three research questions were postulated for the study. The major finding of the study was that educational background has a higher significant relationship (Correlation with the socio-cultural practices that affect maternal health more than both practicing safe motherhood and the respondents of age.. The result indicated that independent variable with beta weight has the largest correlation with the dependent variable The findings also reveals that there is strong relationship between socio-cultural practices and maternal mortality. The result further revealed that there is a significant relationship between respondents' age and socio-cultural practices that affect maternal health. Based on these findings, it is recommended that social workers and women advocacy professionals should embark on public education and mass campaigns to eradicate some social and cultural practices that are detrimental to the health of women in the community. The government should endeavour to provide adequate funding and materials for such programmes and provide adequate publicity and media support for them.
2012
The study investigates household and socio-cultural factors that predispose women to high morbidity and mortality in rural Northern Cross River State. The study design utilized the survey research approach involving a sample of 823 respondents drawn from an estimated total population of 842,561 women. Multi-staged sampling procedure was used to select sampling units. Data were subjected to chi-square and logistic regression analysis. The socio-economic status of women played a significant role in maternal health; ever married women had better health status than those that were single; women who had their first babies earlier than the age of 20 had poorer health status relative to those who had them later. Household sanitation and hygiene behaviour were significantly related to maternal health status. Households with poor waste disposal systems reported poorer health status relative to those with better waste disposal systems. Some cultural practices such as early marriage, patriarch...
Abstract This study explores sociocultural and traditional practices associated with maternal health in Sokoto state, Nigeria. These practices play significant roles in the life of women folks in the zone. Past researches show that Nigeria is culturally diverse with over 300 different ethnic or linguistic groups and dialects. In this study, sources of data and information include field observations, current literature in international journals, other academic researches, government publications, United Nation reports, USAID resources, and Pathfinder International materials. The findings reveal that tradition-inspired practices and norms such as unattended labour and delivery, low level of education, hot-bath (Wankan jego) during new birth, use of herbs, forced marriage, early marriage, child spacing, female genital mutilation and traditional gender discrimination play a significant role in maternal health, and are believed to account for the high maternal mortality rates in the state. Although such practices are predominant among women with low education attainment their general influence remains strong even in the face of extensive modernisation such that they need to be addressed more squarely if maternal mortality is to be reduced. Hence, the study recommends that instead of investing in the provision of more modern health facilities that are grossly underutilised commensurate effort should be made in tackling traditional beliefs and practices among women in the state.
2012
attempts to increase male participation in reducing maternal mortality have proven to be a daunting task. This study examined the effects of socio-cultural practices on male involvement in reducing maternal mortality in rural Ghana. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected for the study. The main methods used in data collection were structured interviews, focus group discussion and direct observation. The research revealed that male involvement in reducing maternal mortality was low. Polygamous marriages, the practice of "Dog kuli" and social stigma, are among the key socio-cultural practices that inhibit male involvement in reducing maternal mortality. The research notes that intensive public education, an increase in couple-friendly maternal health care services and increased engagement with traditional authorities on the need to modify some socio-cultural practices would help whip up male partners' interest in promoting maternal health.
SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF FACTORS AFFECTING MATERNAL MORTALITY IN SOKOTO STATE
Over the years, several studies have examined the role of mortality as a component of population change. Maternal mortality in particular has been identified as a serious public health issue in the world given the substantial number of women each year who die of maternal related factors especially in developing countries like Nigeria. Maternal mortality is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy but not from accidental or incidental causes. A binary logistic regression model was performed to measure the effect of socio-cultural behaviours and practices with 22 variables that comprised of both independent and dependent factors. These variables comprise of occupational status, religion, husband's number of wives, traditional contraceptive methods used, extent of women's freedom, place of delivery, age at marriage and pregnancy and the educational level of husband among others. In addition to the quantitative data collected, qualitative data such as Focus Group Discussions (FGD) was used to complement both the quantitative and secondary data collected. The results show that a number of variables such as level of education, female genital mutilation, hot-water bathing among others are strong predictors in the model significant at 0.046 p. value with an odd ratio recorded at 3.964 implying that some women are about four times more likely to die than others due to their socio-cultural behaviours and practices. The study concludes that in order to reduce the high incidence of maternal mortality, more attention should be focused on socio-cultural practices and behaviours among women in Sokoto State and Nigeria in general through public enlightment programme directed to both men and women.
Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 1998
Study objective-To understand community based or socio-cultural factors that determine maternal morbidity and mortality in a semi-urban setting. Design-The study is an exploratory multidisciplinary operations research and the instruments were focus groups and interviews. Setting-Ekpoma, a semi-urban community with a population of 70 000 in central part of Edo state in southern Nigeria. Participants-Thirteen groups of women, two groups of men, and two groups of traditional birth attendants. Results-There is a fairly good knowledge of haemorrhage but this is circumscibed by attitudes, practices, and situations that keep women away from or delay the decision to seek modern obstetric care. Conclusions-For a fuller understanding of maternal morbidity and mortality, it is important to consider factors outside the hospital and formal medical practice. Furthermore, a change of existing knowledge, attitudes, practices, and situations can be enhanced through modelling on them.
The Socio-Cultural Context of Maternal Health in Lagos State, Nigeria
This thesis is dedicated to the Almighty God, whose infinite mercies and favour saw me through, and also to the evergreen memory of my late parents Dr. & Mrs. N. F. Idowu, whose tireless efforts provided me with an opportunity to pursue my academics. May their loving souls continue to rest at the bosom of the Almighty God. To my spiritual parents, Bishop David and Pst. (Mrs.) Faith Oyedepo, whose spiritual virtues were a driving light throughout this study. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to tender my utmost and truthful gratitude to my heavenly Father, the Almighty God, who is the Alpha and Omega. He has made all things beautiful in His time. He is the giver of life and the reason for my existence. He knew me right from the womb and also knew what would become of me. He is the true one that offers knowledge and gives wisdom to mankind. Thank you, Lord. During the course of this study I received laudable support and assistance from a lot of people. However, I will just mention a few because it is only the Almighty God that can really acknowledge and reward everyone's efforts towards the success of this study. My profound appreciation goes to my supervisor, Dr. P. A. Edewor, who took pain and time to nurture, mentor and encourage me during the course of this work particularly for the feedback he gave to me from time to time. Also, I wish to express my gratitude to my cosupervisor, Professor A. Ogundipe, whose wealth of knowledge added glamour to this thesis. These acknowledgements will not be complete if I fail to recognize the mentoring contributions of my teacher and a senior colleague in the field, Dr. Alex Asakitikpi, whose relentless efforts, support and contribution to the success of this thesis is priceless. I am sincerely grateful to my aunty, Mrs. Odunola Owolabi, whose love, support and heart of generosity towards in the completion of this research work is immeasurable. Indeed, you are worthy of emulation. I appreciate God for your life. I will also like to shower accolades vi ABSTRACT Maternal health is one of the major concerns of the global health community. Pregnancyrelated mortality is avoidable if preventive measures are taken and adequate care is available. Yet women in sub-Saharan Africa continue to die due to pregnancy-related complications. This study set out to examine the socio-cultural context of pregnant women and how that context precipitates maternal morbidity and mortality. The study was prompted by the high rate of maternal death despite all efforts and the observation that studies had concentrated on the proximate determinants of maternal mortality, rather than also considering the social determinants. Five objectives were considered which were to: identify the social factors that precipitate the medical proximate determinants of maternal health, determine the cultural beliefs and stereotypes that are associated with maternal health, examine how role conflict influences maternal health, investigate how mothers' working conditions affect maternal health, and evaluate how social support influence maternal health. Systematic review of literature was carried out while the study utilized Functionalism, Agency Structure Theory and Gender and Development (GAD) Theory for its theoretical framework. The study was conducted in the four selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Lagos State from November, 2011to January, 2012 using 1,362 respondents to whom a structured questionnaire was administered, 20 key informants were interviewed and 4 case studies were analysed. Five hypotheses were tested. The first hypothesis revealed age, education, occupation, income, religion, marital status and type of marriage are significant determinants of maternal health complications. Women in age group 20-24, 25-29 and 30-34 are 0.631, 0.621 and 0.756 respectively less likely to have health complications. The second hypothesis estimated significant influence of cultural beliefs and practices on maternal health. With p-values 0.021, 0.001, 0.050 and 0.011 respectively, women who experience swollen feet, dizziness, fatigue or more than one of these symptoms are more likely to be at risk of complication. The third hypothesis also indicated a significant influence of role conflict on maternal health. Women's working conditions were found to significantly influence maternal health complications in the forth hypothesis. And the finding of the fifth hypothesis revealed that there is a significant influence of social support availab le to women on maternal health. The findings presented in this study show that maternal health vii challenges will continue to shape national indicators on health, poverty, and other development issues, if adequate attention is not provided. The study suggests that to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, intervention programmes must be introduced to deal with maternal health in a broad and multidimensional way. Every effort must be put in place to reduce poverty and enhance infrastructural development. Health promotion and education should be widely recognized and should be embarked upon as necessary primary approaches to ensure maternal health. Health policies toward maternal wellbeing during pregnancy in the place of work should be developed in the light of urban poor infrastructure. There must be a strong political will to help in the process of reducing maternal mortality in Nigeria.
Socio-Cultural Correlates of Maternal Morbidity in Lagos State, Nigeria
The Nigerian Journal of Sociology and Anthropology
Adverse maternal health is a public health challenge in Less developed countries particularly Nigeria. Despite different interventions, Nigerian women are 500 times more likely to die during pregnancy than their counterparts in more developed countries. Although, some women survive the phase of pregnancy and delivery, they do so with disabling long-term complications. Clinical factors have been identified as possible causes of these adverse maternal issues with no recourse to cultural and behavioural factors. This study focuses on the influence of socio-cultural factors on maternal morbidity among women of reproductive age. Health Belief Model and Religious Functionalism of Emile Durkheim were adopted as the theoretical orientation. The Cross-sectional survey design was utilized with 400 questionnaires administered among pregnant women through the multi-stage sampling technique. Cultural beliefs on pregnancy and child delivery include sharing of gifts to children in the neigbourhood...
Socio-cultural and Economic Determinants of Maternal Health in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria
A major challenge to global health systems is maternal mortality. The vast majority of these deaths are preventable. This research is aimed at investigating sociocultural and economic determinants of maternal health in Ado-Ekiti, southwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It was a cross sectional epidemiological study which determined the association between the independent variables (maternal educational status, maternal religion, maternal occupation, decision maker for the commencement of ANC, and health care availability/accessibility) and the dependent variable (maternal health as represented by choice of ANC provider). The respondents were 418 females of reproductive age group. The modal age group was '51 years and above' (24.4%). The majority of the participants (45.5%) were married. A total number of 50(12.0%) respondents had primary education only, 110(26.3%) secondary education, 130(31.1%) tertiary, while those without any formal education were 16(3.8%). There were 112(26.8%) who did not indicate their educational status and did not give reasons for it. On religion, 216(51.7%) were self-identified as Christians and 188(45.0%) as Muslims. Traditional faith constituted 14(3.3%). Those employed were 178(42.6%), while 102(24.4%) were unemployed. Students constituted 82(19.6%) and Apprentice 56(13.4%) of the respondents. All the variables tested gave a statistically significant value of p<0.05. The selected variables for multivariate logistic regression also gave a statistically significant value of p<0.05. Strategies targeted at improving maternal educational status, making employment available, and encouraging accessibility to health care facilities, may make a significant impact in reducing Maternal Mortality Rates in the studied population.
CULTURAL PRACTICES AND THE HEALTH STATUS OF WOMEN IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA
Cultural practices and the health status of women in Benue State, Nigeria , 2023
The need to maintain good health status across populations has been a global concern. Women in particular have been vulnerable to ill health due to socio cultural factors. This study examined the phenomenon of cultural practices and the health status of women in Benue State. Cross sectional study design was used while women constituted population of the study. Data were collected using questionnaire and key informant interviews. The study found that there are many cultural practices within the study area that are harm to the health of women. The findings show that the cultural practices are enforced through several means including socialization. Majority of the respondents 48.3% (177) of respondents expressed favourable perception towards the cultural practices affecting the health of women. On the impact of the cultural practices, 37.4% (55) of the respondents mentioned unequal access to maternal healthcare services, 12.8% (47) said the practices lead to low self-esteem, 10.9% (40) pointed health complications. The study concluded that some of the prevailing cultural practices in Benue state have negative implications to the health status of women. The study recommended the need for women to be empowered through education which will enable them reinforce their identities, respond to democratic aspirations and reduce inequality between the sexes which has always been the crux of the matter.