Abstract:
In Ethiopia, women have been giving birth at health facilities without considering
their preference of birth positions. Accordingly, they routinely positioned at lithotomy position as
standard medical practices during normal vertex vaginal childbirths, which results in negative
maternal and neonatal outcomes. Thus, this study aimed to understand women’s perception of
birth positions.
Objectives: To assess awareness, experience, and view of women toward child birthing positions
among women on antenatal care follow up at Jimma Medical Center, Jimma town, Ethiopia 2020.
Methods and Materials: Facility-based a cross-sectional study was conducted from March 20 to
April 20, 2020. For the quantitative study, 287 women were selected by a systematic random
sampling technique. The data were entered into Epidata version of 3.1 and exported to Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) of version 21 for descriptive analysis. For the qualitative
study, women from postnatal and maternity care providers were selected purposively. The audio
was transcribed, translated, coded, and categorized to respective identified themes. Then,
thematized by Archive for Technology, Lifeworld and Everyday Language.text interpretation
(ATLAS.ti version 8) software for thematic analysis in triangulation with the quantitative findings.
Results: A total of 287 women have participated in this study. From the participants, 146(51.8%)
of them knew only (lithotomy) whereas 135(48.2%) knew other alternative birth positions. Almost
a total of 222(99.5%) of women gave birth at a lithotomy position during their last delivery at the
health facility. However, the women gave birth at home used alternative birth positions like
36(63.2%) sitting, 10(17.5%) lithotomy, and 9(15.8%) used a supine position. The women and
health care providers were responded on factors affecting the use of alternative birth positions in
the health facility. These were due to women’s lack of awareness about birth positions, women’s
passivity to respect their decision-making on their position of preference, and health care
professionals’ knowledge and skill gaps on alternative childbirth positions.
Conclusion and recommendations: The women of more than half had poor awareness of
childbirth positions. They were coerced and adopted birth positions directed by health care
providers. Therefore, health care providers’ practice should be intensified through the provision
and implementation of evidence-based alternative birth positions.
