Abstract

Problem: Like other low- and middle-income countries, Ghana has high maternal mortality stemming from pre-eclampsia. Ghanaian midwives are frontline service providers of emergency care in obstetric complications and have the greatest potential to maximise pre-eclampsia outcomes. Little is known about the potential barriers and challenges to midwives' capacity to provide quality care in pre-eclampsia in Ghana. Therefore, we aimed to explore and gain insights into midwives’ experiences of pre-eclampsia care including their knowledge, skills, and psychological aspects such as midwives' resilience. Background: There is a rising global incidence of pre-eclampsia. Quality midwifery care in inter-professional collaborative practice is crucial to reducing pre-eclampsia-related morbidity and mortality. Methods: A qualitative descriptive exploratory study. In-depth semi-structured interviews (n = 35) were performed in 2021 and analysed by thematic analysis. Findings: There were three main themes. 1) Competence and Confidence in care; midwives provided timely and appropriate care based on sound knowledge and skills; they explained how pre-eclampsia care was organised within a multidisciplinary context and described collaborative working amongst midwives for mutual learning and support. 2) Emotional concerns and empathy; midwives’ described fulfillment in achieving positive pre-eclampsia outcomes. In contrast, maternal loss was distressing and traumatic. 3) Call for improved care resources for pre-eclampsia; midwives recommended expansion of continuing professional development opportunities, appropriate infrastructure, resources, tailored public education, and a review of pre-service education to support their participation in pre-eclampsia care. Conclusion: To improve the quality of care in pre-eclampsia, midwives should be capacitated, systems should promptly address barriers, and prioritise midwives’ emotional well-being.

RAS ID

62380

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

3-1-2024

Volume

37

Issue

2

Funding Information

Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship

PubMed ID

37977957

School

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Publisher

Elsevier

Comments

Garti, I., Gray, M., Bromley, A., & Tan, J. Y. (2024). Midwives’ experiences of providing pre-eclampsia care in a low- and middle-income country – A qualitative study. Women and Birth, 37(2), 332-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2023.11.001

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1016/j.wombi.2023.11.001