Listen to the Midwives in Limpopo Province South Africa: An Exploratory Study on Maternal Care
Abstract
Background and Aim:
South Africa is a middle-income country that did not reach the United Nations Millennium Development Goal 5 by 2015, because maternal mortality ratio increased between 1990 and 2015. Limpopo is a rural province, and its institutional maternal mortality ratio is higher than the national average. Studies reported that there is a shortage of midwives and medical equipment in the province. This study is part of a broader research program focusing on strengthening health systems for maternal care in Limpopo province, and it was aimed at exploring the experiences of Midwives prior to debriefing and training sessions conducted.
Methods:
Qualitative research was used whereby five focus group interviews were conducted with midwives from five districts to share experiences during the provision of maternal healthcare and to propose solutions thereof. Tesch’s open coding qualitative data analysis was used.
Results:
The findings revealed that there is a lack of resources, feelings of isolation, problems related to logistical issues, staffing issues, demographic characteristics of the population, interinstitutional communication, and lack of administrative support.
Conclusion:
Hospital managers must revise how they allocate resources, improve inter-institutional cooperation, and change of management attitude. This study concludes that the midwives identified numerous challenges that originate from a lack of resources. Revision for resource allocation is hoped that it will solve logistical problems, increased inter-institutional cooperation in terms of capacity building and patient assessment suggested with the hope to minimize the challenges of communication and staffing.
