ETHNOMEDICAL PERCEPTIONS OF PREGNANCY THREATS AND HOMEBIRTH PREFERENCE IN RURAL CAMEROON: THE CASE OF NCHANG, SOUTH WEST REGION

The principal objective of this research has been to highlight ethnomedical understanding of risk factors causing mishaps in childbirth as the fundamental determinant to low facility-based deliveries. Skilled obstetric assistance has been proven to significantly reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Reliance on facility-based delivery is therefore fundamental to maternal wellbeing. However, preference for homebirth is still common and prevalent in rural Cameroon where socio-cultural perceptions still exert strong influence on health-seeking decisions and behaviors. Understanding the reasons for this preference is important to design targeted interventions for more effective maternal death control schemes. This qualitative research was carried out in all ten quarters of Nchang using both random and snowball sampling techniques to select participants. Forty in-depth interviews and four focus group discussions were conducted using corresponding research tools. Verbatim translation and transcription of audio recordings was done from pidgin or kenyang to English, followed by codification and a thematic analysis. Our findings reveal that low demand for obstetric assistance and its consequential correspondingly higher maternal mortality rates are fundamentally determined by socio-cultural perceptions of pregnancy threats. KEYWORDS: perceptions, facility-based delivery, obstetric assistance, homebirth, maternal mortality