Women’s Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness in Nigeria: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

INTRODUCTION: Globally, efforts are being made to reduce the menace of maternal death in order to achieve the sustainable development goal. Maternal death has been associated with inadequate Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness (BPCR), especially in low- and middle-income countries. Therefore, this review assessed birth preparedness and complication readiness in Nigeria.

METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis of published research articles on birth preparedness and complication readiness in Nigeria were done using PubMed, EMBASE, and MEDLINE databases. All published articles from inception to November 2018 were included in the review. A total of 8,913 published articles were identified from an electronic search, and a total of 4,440 studies were included in this review, while only 12 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis.

RESULTS: The pooled prevalence of “good BPCR” for all studies yielded an estimate of 58.7% (95% CI 43.9%–72.7%). The I ² statistic was 98%, indicating statistically significant heterogeneity among the studies. The percentage of women with good birth preparedness and complication readiness increases with the year of publication, such that women have tended to be more aware of good birth preparedness and complication readiness in recent years. More than half of the women had knowledge of obstetric danger signs (52.0%, 95% CI 39.5%–64.4%, 10 studies), arranged for transportation (59.5%, 95% CI 36.2%–80.7%, 11 studies), or saved money (63.4%, 95% CI 44.7%–80.2%, 11 studies) as part of the BPCR.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO number CRD42019123220.

CONCLUSION: Women in Nigeria are better prepared for birth preparedness and complication readiness in recent years. Therefore, interventions to promote more adequate birth preparedness and complication readiness among women are recommended.