Abstract

Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) are important for maternal health care especially in Africa’s low-income areas. Without doubt, the relevance of TBAs in developing countries such as Nigeria is not expected to reduce in the foreseeable future. The knowledge of traditional birth attendants will continue to be needed and considering the tacit nature of their knowledge, there is a need to preserve the knowledge in this profession and promote sharing of best practices to prevent maternal mortality issues. This study investigated the knowledge sharing (KS) and referral practices of TBAs in low-income urban areas of South-west Nigeria. Qualitative approach was adopted and data collected from 25 TBAs through face-to-face interviews. TBAs generally had a positive attitude towards KS and knowledge reciprocity was a strong reason for KS. Challenges to KS were lack of trust, fear of colleagues being into voodoo and lack of appreciation for knowledge shared. Patient referral was a practice especially for complicated cases. Challenges to referrals included excessive hospital bills and sometimes orthodox practitioners’ blaming TBAs for maternal complications. TBAs reported a very good working relationship with orthodox practitioners and support in form of providing advice on safe delivery. The positive attitude of TBAs to KS and patient referrals, as well as improved collaboration with orthodox health practitioners shows a change in narratives earlier reported on traditional health practitioners. Strategies aimed at improving maternal health and achieving 2030 Sustainable Development Goal 3 which targets reduction of maternal mortality, should not exclude the knowledge of TBAs especially in low-income areas where their patronage is substantial.