Assessment of awareness, experience and view of women toward childbirth positions among women on antenatal care follow up at jimma medical center, oromia region, southwest Ethiopia

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.