TITLE:
Teething in infants—Knowledge and attitude of traditional birth attendants in Ibadan, Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Olubunmi Olusola Bankole, Julianah Obontu Taiwo, Adelegan Michael Adesakin
KEYWORDS:
Knowledge; Attitude; Traditional Birth Attendants; Teething; Infants
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.5 No.9,
September
12,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Introduction: Misconceptions are associated with the
teething process in Nigeria and is often blamed for
symptoms in infants. A horrendous incident occurred in Nigeria in 2008 which
recorded 84 infant deaths due to consumption of adulterated teething syrup to
prevent teething problems. In the
quest to engage the populace, particularly mothers, in health education to
change this erroneous mindset about teething, it will be necessary and more
cost effective to involve Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA’s) who can be invaluable in assisting to dispel
myths associated teething as they live and work among the local populace
and many times give counsel to mothers.
Aim: To assess the attitude and beliefs of TBA’s in Ibadan, to teething in infants. Methods: A cross
sectional survey was conducted among TBA’s in Ibadan, Nigeria. A thirteen item
interviewer administered questionnaire was distributed to all 163 TBA’s in
the five urban local government areas who agreed to be part of the study.
Results: Over half of the respondents (59.5%) and
(55.8%) associated the teething process with fever and diarrhea respectively.
Other beliefs included boils (49.1%), loss of appetite (48.5%), weight loss (44.2%),
and sleeplessness (42.3%). A greater proportion of the older and less educated
TBA’s associated teething with fever, diarrhea, boils, loss of appetite and
weight loss. The respondents would advise
analgesics (55.8%), teething powder
(67.5%), antibiotics (12.3%), concoctions (4.3%) and sedatives (4.3%) as teething remedies. There
was a greater tendency for less educated
TBA’s to advise the use of concoctionsand antibiotics.
Conclusion: The study reveals grave misconceptions among TBA’s who in developing
countries like Nigeria give counsel to mothers in the various communities.
There is an urgent need for health education to the TBA’s particularly the
older and less educated ones.