Abstract:
Background: Pain is ‘an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or
potential tissue damage. Labor pain is an unpleasant, complex, highly individualized phenomenon
with both sensory and emotional components. It is a profound physiological, psychosocial and
spiritual event. The practice of labor analgesia in Africa is not a well-practiced, especially in the lowincome
countries like Ethiopia.
Objective: Practice of labor pain management, its perceived barriers and associated factors among
obstetric care providers working in Jimma zone hospitals Ethiopia, 2019.
Method: Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted in Jimma Zone public Hospitals
from August 1- 30/2011. Convenience sampling technique was used to collect data. Self administered
questionnaire was used to collect data. All of the healthcare providers who are supposed to be
involved in the management of labor pain in the Jimma zone public hospitals were included. Pretested
structured questionnaires were used to collect data with regular supervision and follow up. Data was
entered in to Epi-info version 7 and analyzed with SPSS-20 statistical software. Results were
presented using narratives, graphs, tables and charts. Conclusions were drawn by means of simple
percentages and inferential statistics using binary logistic regression, with P-value < 0.05 at 95%
Confidence Interval (CI) taken to be statistically significant.
Results: .Among 181 respondent ninety-nine (54.7 %) were male. From the total obstetric care giver
providers on the study, 122 (67.4%) midwife, 35(19.3) Anesthetist, 13 (7.2) IESO, 3(1.7)
Anesthesiologist, 8 (4.4) Obstetrics, were involved. The majority 134 (74 %) of practitioners have
been in their respective professional practice for 5 years or less, while only 12 (6.6 %) had practiced
for 11-15 years. 86 (47.4) practiced in Jimma medical center. One hundred respondents (55.2 %) were
practiced labor analgesia while 81 (44.8 %) were not practiced labor analgesia. The major reasons for
not offering labor pain management of both methods were non availability of the drugs 125 (69.1 %),
lack of emphasis towards labor pain management by health service management system 122( 67.4 %),
fear of adverse effect of maternal and fetal to administer systemic analgesia 68 (37.6 %).
Conclusion: The routine practice of labor pain management by obstetric care giver was very low
especially pharmacological method. It is very important for stakeholders in the health sector and
ministry of health to step up its use, and make childbirth pain free.
