"The midwife helped me ... otherwise I could have died": women's experience of professional midwifery services in rural Afghanistan - a qualitative study in the provinces Kunar and Laghman

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Trude ThommesenGraziella Van den Bergh

Abstract

Afghanistan has one of the world's highest maternal mortality ratios, with more than 60% of women having no access to a skilled birth attendant in some areas. The main challenges for childbearing Afghan women are access to skilled birth attendance, emergency obstetric care and reliable contraception. The NGO-based project Advancing Maternal and Newborn Health in Afghanistan has supported education of midwives since 2002, in accordance with the national plan for midwifery education. The aim of this study is to explore women's experiences of professional midwifery care in four villages in Afghanistan covered by the project, so as to reveal challenges and improve services in rural and conflict-affected areas of the country. An exploratory case-study approach was adopted. Fourteen in-depth interviews and four focus-group discussions were conducted. A total of 39 women participated - 25 who had given birth during the last six months, 11 mothers-in-law and three community midwives in the provinces of Kunar and Laghman. Data generated by the interviews and observations was analysed using thematic content analysis. Many of the women greatly valued the trained midwives' life-saving experience, skills and care, and the latter were import...Continue Reading

References

Jun 6, 2002·Acta Obstetricia Et Gynecologica Scandinavica·Leena Kaartinen, Vinod Diwan
Aug 21, 2007·Midwifery·Sheena CurrieRebecca C Fowler
Aug 16, 2008·American Journal of Public Health·Maureen MayhewGilbert Burnham
Sep 4, 2008·Revista Panamericana De Salud Pública = Pan American Journal of Public Health·Kelsey E Otis, John A Brett
Jul 22, 2009·Public Health Reports·Chimaraoke O IzugbaraEliya M Zulu
Mar 23, 2011·American Journal of Public Health·Nina B WallersteinS Leonard Syme
Jun 29, 2011·BMC Medical Research Methodology·Sarah CroweAziz Sheikh
Oct 20, 2012·BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth·Tesfay GebrehiwotMiguel San Sebastian

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Citations

Jun 25, 2021·BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth·Megan M LydonHannah Tappis

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
contraception

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