title: Home birth and hospital birth trends in Bo, Sierra Leone.
abstract: As of April 2010, all maternity care at government healthcare facilities in Sierra Leone is provided at no cost to patients. In late 2010, we conducted a community health census of 18 sections of the city of Bo (selected via randomized cluster sampling from 68 total sections). Among the 3421 women with a history of pregnancy who participated in the study, older women most often reported having a history of both home and hospital deliveries, while younger women showed a preference for hospital births. The proportion of lastborn children delivered at a healthcare facility increased from 71.8% of offspring 10-14 years old to 81.1% of those one to nine years old and 87.3% of infants born after April 2010. These findings suggest that the new maternal healthcare initiative has accelerated an existing trend toward a preference for healthcare facility births, at least in some urban parts of Sierra Leone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Global & Community Health, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030; USA. kjacobse@gmu.edu
authors.forename: Kathryn H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.forename: Hafsa A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Abdirahman
authors.forename: Rashid
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ansumana
authors.forename: Alfred S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Bockarie
authors.forename: Umaru
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bangura
authors.forename: David Henry
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Jimmy
authors.forename: Anthony P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Malanoski
authors.forename: Abu James
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Sundufu
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Stenger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006700:Home Childbirth / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D008430:Maternal-Child Health Centers / Q000191:economics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012807:Sierra Leone / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult