Family and community support systems for expectant mothers on birth preparedness in Northern Ghana

Background: While maternal mortality ratio in under-developed countries has declined significantly since 1990, much work still needs to be done in addressing inequities to accessing maternal health services by poor, vulnerable and marginalized women. In an effort to improve maternal and newborn health (MNH) services, Community Support System (CmSS) is an approach for community involvement and ownership. The objective of the study includes, this study specifically examined support systems on birth preparedness among expectant mothers attending antenatal clinic at Tamale Teaching Hospital.Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February, 2016 to April, 2016 among mothers who attended antenatal care at Tamale Teaching Hospital, Ghana. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select pregnant women for the study. Using structured questionnaires, the women were assessed on the availability of community support systems during pregnancy and childbirth. Data quality was ensured via crosschecks and double entry into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20.01 for analysis. Data were summarized and described using frequency tables. At the 95% confidence interval, a p-value less than 0.05 was statistically significant.Results: About 74.2% of respondents lacked husbands` company to antenatal clinic and 88.4% received no support from community leadership.Conclusions: Based on these findings, it is recommended that an emergency response system at the community level to provide emergency funds, transport, and blood donors be put in place and made known to the public