Perceptions and satisfaction of midwifery services at an urban hospital in South India

Abstract

Despite strong recommendations, significant numbers of women in developing countries still prefer home deliveries. Behavioural shift to hospital requires presence of qualified and friendly midwives and well-equipped labour wards. Studies in developing countries evaluating the status are sparse. Hence this research on perceptions and satisfaction of mothers admitted to an urban hospital for their delivery. A cross sectional in-depth Interview survey was done on a systematic random sample of 300 mothers admitted to the Labour ward. Consent from the mothers and ethical approval were obtained. Interview schedule was validated and pilot tested Mothers were asked to rate their agreements on 7 expectations and 16 experiences using a 5-point scale. Mothers expected both technical expertise and helpful midwives to take care of emotional needs. The experiences of over two-thirds of mothers were good, matching their expectations. More efforts are needed by the hospitals to further upgrade the staff skills and resources.