Why women choose to to seek facility-level obstetrical care in rural Guatemala: A qualitative study

Abstract

ObjectiveThe majority of indigenous Guatemalan women give birth at home with traditional birth attendants (TBAs), and maternal mortality rates are high (Ministerio de Salud, 2017). Our objective was to better understand decision-making around whether to remain in the home or to seek facility-level care for obstetric complications. MethodsThis study was a qualitative analysis using semi-structured interviews in a Maya population in the Western Highlands of Guatemala who received prenatal care between April 2017 and December 2018. We used qualitative interviews with women who were identified as medically high-risk and needing facility-level care, offered assistance with acquiring such care, and yet declined this option. Women interviewed were connected to a primary care organization called Maya Health Alliance, through care with TBAs involved in a program utilizing a smartphone-based decision support application to identify maternal and neonatal complications of pregnancy. Interviews were analyzed using Dedoose (www.dedoose.com). Deductive and inductive analysis was performed. ResultsBarriers to care included a disagreement between the respondent and TBA about indications for facility care, fear of hospital care, concerns about the quality of hospital care, logistical obstacles, and lack of control; and they were more often described by respondents who had previous healthcare experiences. Therapeutic misalignment occurred more with conditions perceived to be less severe. Participants described a balancing of fears and apprehensions against concerns of low quality and disrespectful maternity care, and in the setting of emergent conditions, disregarded barriers that were often described as inhibiting non-urgent obstetric care. ConclusionsThe decision to engage in medical care in this population of Maya women involves a weighing of the perception of seriousness of the medical complication against fears of facility level care and concerns of a poor quality of care.