Individual, provider and birth characteristics of the study sample by country
| Country | Nigeria (N=407) | Ghana (N=912) | Guinea (N=655) |
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| Individual characteristics | |||
| Age (years): mean (SD) | 29.3 (5.4) | 28.4 (5.9) | 23.8 (5.6) |
| Education level | |||
| None/primary | 22 (5.4) | 293 (32.1) | 438 (66.9) |
| Secondary | 176 (43.2) | 462 (50.7) | 152 (23.2) |
| Tertiary | 204 (50.1) | 134 (14.7) | 43 (6.6) |
| Vocational or other | 5 (1.2) | 23 (2.5) | 22 (3.4) |
| Marital status | |||
| Married | 386 (94.8) | 735 (80.6) | 612 (93.4) |
| Not married | 21 (5.2) | 177 (19.4) | 43 (6.6) |
| Number of previous births | |||
| 0 | 163 (40.1) | 343 (37.6) | 235 (35.9) |
| 1 | 110 (27.0) | 249 (27.3) | 143 (21.8) |
| 2+ | 134 (32.9) | 320 (35.1) | 277 (42.3) |
| Provider characteristics | |||
| Primary labour attendant * | |||
| Nurse/midwife | 360 (88.5) | 458 (69.9) | 762 (83.6) |
| Doctor | 20 (4.9) | 103 (15.7) | 101 (11.1) |
| Trainee | 22 (5.4) | 75 (11.5) | 37 (4.1) |
| None/other | 5 (1.2) | 19 (2.9) | 12 (1.3) |
| Staff member present at birth*† | |||
| Nurse/midwife | 306 (81.4) | 667 (74.5) | 414 (68.8) |
| Doctor | 66 (17.6) | 216 (24.1) | 156 (25.9) |
| Trainee | 1 (0.3) | 11 (1.2) | 32 (5.3) |
| Other | 3 (0.8) | 1 (0.1) | -- |
| Characteristics of childbirth | |||
| Mode of birth | |||
| Vaginal | 380 (93.4) | 765 (83.4) | 563 (86.0) |
| Caesarean | 27 (6.6) | 147 (16.1) | 92 (14.1) |
| Companion presence during labour and/or childbirth | 78 (19.2) | 102 (11.2) | 66 (10.1) |
| Type of companion present at birth (n=163) | n=51 | n=82 | n=31 |
| Husband/partner | 21 (41.2) | 62 (75.6) | -- |
| Family/friend | 26 (51.0) | 20 (24.4) | 30 (97.0) |
| Other | 4 (7.8) | -- | 1 (3.2) |
| Time of childbirth‡ | |||
| Day | 201 (49.4) | 390 (42.8) | 280 (42.8) |
| Night | 206 (50.6) | 522 (57.2) | 375 (57.3) |
| Day of childbirth | |||
| Weekday | 309 (75.9) | 673 (73.8) | 513 (78.3) |
| Weekend | 98 (24.1) | 239 (26.2) | 142 (21.7) |
*Trainee=medical students, nursing students, midwifery students.
†Among women with a staff member present at birth.
‡'Day’=8:00–17:00 hours; ‘Night’=17:01−7:59 hours.