Please Do Not Forget Us” - Views of Women, Nurses, and Traditional Birth Attendants on Community Distribution of Medications to Prevent Postpartum Hemorrhage and Sepsis: A Qualitative Pilot Study in Rural Tanzania

Abstract

Background: Postpartum hemorrhage and sepsis are the most common causes of death for women in childbirth globally. In rural Tanzania where about one woman dies every hour from childbirth, over sixty percent of women deliver outside of health care institutions and therefore lack access to medications to prevent bleeding and infection. In this study, women delivering in rural Rorya District in northern Tanzania were provided with 600 micrograms of misoprostol and 500 mg of erythromycin to take immediately after delivery to prevent postpartum hemorrhage and sepsis. The purpose of the study was to assess the feasibility of distributing these medications.

Community member and policy maker priorities in improving maternal health in rural Tanzania

“…Within Tanzania, the Mara Region in the north has one of the highest non‐facility delivery rates in Tanzania at more than 60% . The barriers to accessing rural healthcare facilities in Tanzania for prenatal care and delivery are numerous and well documented . Reaching a health facility may require travel over considerable distances, on poorly maintained roads.…”