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. 2012;9(5):e1001211.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001211. Epub 2012 May 1.

The midwives service scheme in Nigeria

Seye Abimbola  1 , Ugo Okoli, Olalekan Olubajo, Mohammed J Abdullahi, Muhammad A Pate
Affiliations

The midwives service scheme in Nigeria

Seye Abimbola et al. PLoS Med. 2012.

Abstract

Maternal, newborn, and child health indices in Nigeria vary widely across geopolitical zones and between urban and rural areas, mostly due to variations in the availability of skilled attendance at birth. To improve these indices, the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) in Nigeria engaged newly graduated, unemployed, and retired midwives to work temporarily in rural areas. The midwives are posted for 1 year to selected primary care facilities linked through a cluster model in which four such facilities with the capacity to provide basic essential obstetric care are clustered around a secondary care facility with the capacity to provide comprehensive emergency obstetric care. The outcome of the MSS 1 year on has been an uneven improvement in maternal, newborn, and child health indices in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Major challenges include retention, availability and training of midwives, and varying levels of commitment from state and local governments across the country, and despite the availability of skilled birth attendants at MSS facilities, women still deliver at home in some parts of the country.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The states of Nigeria and their MMR categories.
Red (northeast and northwest), very high MMR; yellow (north central and south south), high MMR; green (southeast and southwest), moderately high MMR.
Figure 2
Figure 2. MSS facility-based maternal mortality ratios comparing July–December 2009 with July–December 2010.
NE, northeast; NW, northwest; NC, north central; SS, south south; SE, southeast; SW, southwest; MSS, Midwives Service Scheme.
Figure 3
Figure 3. MSS facility-based neonatal mortality ratio comparing July–December 2009 with July–December 2010.
NE, northeast; NW, northwest; NC, north central; SS, south south; SE, southeast; SW, southwest; MSS, Midwives Service Scheme.
Figure 4
Figure 4. MSS facility-based maternal health indicators comparing July–December 2009 with July–December 2010.
ANC, antenatal care; TT, tetanus toxoid; FP, family planning.
Figure 5
Figure 5. MSS facility-based maternal health indicators percentage increase from July–December 2009 to July–December 2010.
ANC, antenatal care; TT, tetanus toxoid; FP, family planning.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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