Culturally appropriate care to support maternal positions during the second stage of labour: Midwives’ perspectives in South Africa

Background: ‘Doing what the Romans do in Rome’ was an expression raised by one of the midwives following workplace culture and disregarding women’s birth choices. Midwifery practice in South Africa caters for a culturally diverse ethnic groups of childbearing women. Culturally appropriate care highl...

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Main Authors: Maurine R. Musie, Mmapheko D. Peu, Varshika Bhana-Pema
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2022-04-01
Series:African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/3292
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author Maurine R. Musie
Mmapheko D. Peu
Varshika Bhana-Pema
author_facet Maurine R. Musie
Mmapheko D. Peu
Varshika Bhana-Pema
author_sort Maurine R. Musie
collection DOAJ
description Background: ‘Doing what the Romans do in Rome’ was an expression raised by one of the midwives following workplace culture and disregarding women’s birth choices. Midwifery practice in South Africa caters for a culturally diverse ethnic groups of childbearing women. Culturally appropriate care highlights the importance of including women in decision-making concerning their birth preferences including maternal positions during labour. Women’s right to choose their maternal position and cultural preferences during labour has been overlooked, leading to poor maternal healthcare provision and negative birth experiences. Aim: In this article, the researchers aimed to describe and explore midwives’ perspectives on culturally appropriate care to support maternal positions during the second stage of labour. Setting: Midwives working in the maternity ward in a public hospital in South Africa. Methods: A qualitative descriptive design using individual interviews was used to collect data. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling method. The study population comprised 20 midwives who volunteered to participate in the study. Data were transcribed manually and analysed using thematic analysis. Results: The four main themes are as follows: (1) Caring for women from various ethnic groups, (2) midwives disregard women’s beliefs and culture, (3) midwife personal cultural attributes and (4) midwifery unit workplace culture. Conclusion: The authors concluded that culturally appropriate care towards the women’s choices of birth position during the second stage of labour should form an integral part of the midwifery care rendered.
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spelling doaj.art-2f49e015f04d4efc91bb85e3aede50f62022-12-22T02:53:31ZengAOSISAfrican Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine2071-29282071-29362022-04-01141e1e910.4102/phcfm.v14i1.3292924Culturally appropriate care to support maternal positions during the second stage of labour: Midwives’ perspectives in South AfricaMaurine R. Musie0Mmapheko D. Peu1Varshika Bhana-Pema2Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, PretoriaDepartment of Advanced Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, PretoriaDepartment of Advanced Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, PretoriaBackground: ‘Doing what the Romans do in Rome’ was an expression raised by one of the midwives following workplace culture and disregarding women’s birth choices. Midwifery practice in South Africa caters for a culturally diverse ethnic groups of childbearing women. Culturally appropriate care highlights the importance of including women in decision-making concerning their birth preferences including maternal positions during labour. Women’s right to choose their maternal position and cultural preferences during labour has been overlooked, leading to poor maternal healthcare provision and negative birth experiences. Aim: In this article, the researchers aimed to describe and explore midwives’ perspectives on culturally appropriate care to support maternal positions during the second stage of labour. Setting: Midwives working in the maternity ward in a public hospital in South Africa. Methods: A qualitative descriptive design using individual interviews was used to collect data. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling method. The study population comprised 20 midwives who volunteered to participate in the study. Data were transcribed manually and analysed using thematic analysis. Results: The four main themes are as follows: (1) Caring for women from various ethnic groups, (2) midwives disregard women’s beliefs and culture, (3) midwife personal cultural attributes and (4) midwifery unit workplace culture. Conclusion: The authors concluded that culturally appropriate care towards the women’s choices of birth position during the second stage of labour should form an integral part of the midwifery care rendered.https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/3292culturally appropriate carebirth choicesbirth positionmaternal positionsmidwivessecond stage of labour
spellingShingle Maurine R. Musie
Mmapheko D. Peu
Varshika Bhana-Pema
Culturally appropriate care to support maternal positions during the second stage of labour: Midwives’ perspectives in South Africa
African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine
culturally appropriate care
birth choices
birth position
maternal positions
midwives
second stage of labour
title Culturally appropriate care to support maternal positions during the second stage of labour: Midwives’ perspectives in South Africa
title_full Culturally appropriate care to support maternal positions during the second stage of labour: Midwives’ perspectives in South Africa
title_fullStr Culturally appropriate care to support maternal positions during the second stage of labour: Midwives’ perspectives in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Culturally appropriate care to support maternal positions during the second stage of labour: Midwives’ perspectives in South Africa
title_short Culturally appropriate care to support maternal positions during the second stage of labour: Midwives’ perspectives in South Africa
title_sort culturally appropriate care to support maternal positions during the second stage of labour midwives perspectives in south africa
topic culturally appropriate care
birth choices
birth position
maternal positions
midwives
second stage of labour
url https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/3292
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AT mmaphekodpeu culturallyappropriatecaretosupportmaternalpositionsduringthesecondstageoflabourmidwivesperspectivesinsouthafrica
AT varshikabhanapema culturallyappropriatecaretosupportmaternalpositionsduringthesecondstageoflabourmidwivesperspectivesinsouthafrica