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Published on: January 12, 2018
Women's Experiences Regarding Maternity Care in a Selected Hospital in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province: A
Tshiembe Masibigiri1, Azwinndini Gladys Mudau1, Duppy Manyuma1
1Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Venda, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa.
Introduction:
A pregnant woman's life and that of her child largely depend on the care they receive during the critical stage of pregnancy, labour, and the postpartum period. Some women question their decisions regarding future pregnancies as well as where and from whom they will receive their pregnancy care because of negative experiences that they have had.
Aim:
The aim of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of women regarding maternity care services in a selected hospital in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province.
Methods:
A qualitative approach using a phenomenological research design was adopted in this study. The study population included pregnant women who were admitted to the maternity ward of the selected hospital. A total of 18 participants and 1 hospital were purposively sampled. Pre-testing was conducted to check if the central question was clear and to test the researcher's interviewing skills. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with all sampled participants in April and May 2024. Interpretive analysis was used to analyze the data collected from the participants.
Results:
Four themes emerged during data analysis: women's experiences regrading the provision of maternal healthcare; environmental factors affecting maternal health services; lack of resources; and the attitude of nurses towards patients.
Conclusions:
This study concludes that the majority of the women stated that they were not happy about the maternity care services provided at the selected hospital. Issues such as trained nurses being verbally and physically abusive towards women in labour, as well as the infrastructure and lack of resources of the hospital contributed towards women not being happy about the provision of maternity care services being provided. This study recommends that in order for maternity care services to improve at the selected hospital, there should be workshops for staff on how to improve patient care principles and improvements in the standard of cleanliness in and around the selected hospital.
