Association between birth attendant and early newborn care in Senegal

To examine the association between type of birth attendant and early newborn care in Senegal.

This was a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the 2017 Continuous Demographic and Health Survey.

The study included data on 6328 women with live births in the three years preceding the survey.

The main exposure was the type of birth attendant (doctor, nurse/midwife, auxiliary midwife/matrone, traditional birth attendant, or "others (friend, relative, or no one)). We assessed three outcomes: 1) early initiation of breastfeeding, 2) breastfeeding support, and 3) cord examination. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of early newborn care after adjusting for potential confounders.

The coverage of all three newborn care indicators of interest was low. In the adjusted regression models, women whose births were assisted by a nurse/midwife were nearly twice as likely to initiate breastfeeding early compared to those assisted by doctors (odds ratio: 1.87, 95% confidence interval: 1.00-3.45). Women assisted at birth by doctors were significantly more likely to report breastfeeding support and newborn cord examination than those assisted by other types of birth attendants.

Although most recent births were facility-based and assisted by skilled birth attendants, the prevalence of early newborn care was suboptimal. This presents a missed opportunity to improve neonatal outcomes. Training and supporting skilled birth attendants may bridge the gap between opportunity and practice, and lead to improved coverage and quality of newborn care in Senegal.