Caesarean section deliveries: Experiences of mothers of midwifery care at a public hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Thobeka P Jikijela,Sindiwe James,Balandeli S I Sonti

doi:10.4102/curationis.v41i1.1804

Abstract

BackgroundThe rate of caesarean section deliveries has increased globally and mothers are faced with challenges of postoperative recovery and caring thereof. Midwives have a duty to assist these mothers to self-care.ObjectiveThe objective was to explore and describe experiences of post-caesarean section delivered mothers of midwifery care at a public hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay.MethodsA qualitative, descriptive and explorative research design was used in the study. Data were collected from 11 purposively criterion-selected mothers who had a caesarean section delivery. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted in the post-natal wards. Research ethics, namely autonomy, beneficence, justice and informed consent, were adopted in the study. All participants were informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any stage without penalties. Interviews were analysed using Tesch’s method of data analysis.ResultsThree main themes were identified as experiences of: diverse pain, physical limitation and frustration and health care services as different.ConclusionExperiences of mothers following a caesarean section delivery with midwifery services at a public hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay were explored and described as diverse. A need for adequate pain management as well as assistance and breastfeeding support to mothers following caesarean delivery was identified as crucial to promote a good mother-to-child relationship.

Highlights

Having a baby is usually a happy and exciting moment for delivering women. They are excited to hold their babies, feed them and provide care for them (Ismail, Shahzad & Shafiq 2012:36). For some women, this excitement is dampened as there is physical pain, especially for those women who have had a caesarean section delivery
There has been an increase in the rate of caesarean section deliveries of approximately 18.5 million each year despite the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines stating that the caesarean section rate should not exceed 15% of the total deliveries per year per country (Rauch 2011:428)
In South Africa, the caesarean section rate has increased to 22.5% between 2012 and 2013 (Pattinson & Rhoda 2014) and about 70% of these deliveries are conducted from the private sector (Monticelli 2013:4)

Summary

Introduction

Having a baby is usually a happy and exciting moment for delivering women. They are excited to hold their babies, feed them and provide care for them (Ismail, Shahzad & Shafiq 2012:36). For some women, this excitement is dampened as there is physical pain, especially for those women who have had a caesarean section delivery They experience discomfort as they struggle to cope with the pain from the caesarean section wound. Mothers who have had a caesarean section delivery only start mobilising freely after 24 h compared to those who have had a vaginal birth (Boutsikou & Malamatsi-Puchner 2011:1520). This immobility is associated with insufficient pain control (Sharma et al 2012:462)

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion