Midwives’ challenges in the management of postpartum haemorrhage at rural PHC facilities of Limpopo province, South Africa: an explorative study

Abstract

Background: Postpartum haemorrhage is one of the causes of the rise in maternal mortality. Midwives’ experiences related to postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) management remain unexplored, especially in Limpopo. The purpose of the study was to explore the challenges experienced by midwives in the management of women with PPH. Methods: Qualitative research was conducted to explore the challenges experienced by midwives in the management of women with PPH. Midwives were sampled purposefully. Unstructured interviews were conducted on 18 midwives working at primary health care facilities. Data were analysed after data saturation. Results: After data analysis, one theme emerged “challenges experienced by midwives managing women with PPH” and five subthemes, including: “difficulty experienced resulting in feelings of frustrations and confusion and lack of time and shortage of human resource inhibits guidelines consultation”. Conclusion: The study findings revealed that midwives experienced difficulty when managing women with postpartum haemorrhage. For successful implementation of maternal health care guidelines, midwives should be capacitated through training, supported and supervised in order to execute PPH management with ease. Keywords: Midwifery in South Africa; implementation of maternal guidelines; postpartum haemorrhage; maternal mortality.