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Abstract:
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Continuous support for a labouring woman by a lay person or a professional is a well-evaluated intervention. Large randomised controlled trials have been carried out all over the world and these have shown positive pregnancy outcomes for mother and baby. The supported woman is more likely to give birth without using analgesia, less likely to have a caesarean delivery or instrumental vaginal birth and less likely to report dissatisfaction with her childbirth experience. The baby benefits from the mother’s positive attitude towards her childbirth experience. In spite of the overwhelming evidence of benefit when a labouring woman receives continuous support from a lay person, implementation of the intervention sometimes meets resistance, particularly from healthcare providers working in maternity units.
In Malawi, there is a severe shortage of staff in health facilities, including labour wards, which means that labouring women have little contact with the midwife. There is little information in the literature on the type of support these women receive during labour and on the impact of companionship during labour on delivery outcomes in Malawi. Although studies have shown the advantages of providing companionship to women during labour, there is still a need to assess the introduction of such services to take into account the effect of cultural beliefs and the infrastructure available at health facilities in Malawi.
The objective of this paper is to study the acceptability and experience of supportive companionship during childbirth by mothers, health professionals and supportive companions. |