Table 2 Summary of qualitative results

Positive characterization of evidence based care (skilled care)

Easily handle complications

• Professionals have more knowledge and skills to handle complications than trained TBAs

• Professionals have access to equipment and medical supplies that can deal with HIV vulnerability during pregnancy but TBAs don’t

• As opposed to TBAs, professionals can conduct completed procedures such as caesarian births

• Have access to life-serving medical equipment used to conduct complicated operations

Help promote PMTCT

• Help in PMTCT

• Help Easily conduct HIV tests

• Help in the provision of ARVs

• Help in conducting caesarian births

Negative characterization of evidence-based care (skilled care)

inaccessible

• Health facilities are located very far away

• Skilled care is expensive

• There is poor infrastructure e.g. transport system

• Not enough health facilities

• In some areas there is no health centers

Takes away the only feasible option of care

• TBAs a re now outlawed

• It has made it difficult to access TBAs

• There is nolonger cheap and easily accessible provided psychological, emotional and economic support

• Made it very difficult to access antenatal and postnatal care from home (home-based care)

• Counterproductive government policy on TBAs as it Creates barriers in accessing the most vulnerable women in remote areas

TBAs are now unregulated

• Despite being outlawed TBAs are still being used

• There is no monitoring or regulation of TBAs

• No chance of improving the skills of the only available form of care TBAs

• Policy on skilled care frustrates cooperation between professionals and

• TBAs