The voices of midwives on the causes of perinatal mortality in Mpumalanga province of South Africa

Abstract

During childbirth, no woman should lose a child. However, perinatal mortality remains a global concern. The recent South African Saving Mothers and Babies report revealed a notable 20% increase in perinatal mortality in Mpumalanga province. This excess of perinatal mortality was due to hypertensive disorders and unexplained causes. Thus, this paper explores and describes the voices of midwives on the causes of perinatal mortality in the resource-limited setting of the Mpumalanga province. A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive design was carried out to explore the views and perceptions of midwives on the causes of perinatal mortality. Purposive sampling was adopted to select midwives with experience in midwifery care, and data saturation was reached with the 20th participant. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. The study revealed that issues such as delayed interventions and poor monitoring by healthcare personnel, lack of triaging, shortage of staff, variations in implementation of health education and compliance were the concerning issues contributing to perinatal mortality. The study highlights that health education is a crucial element in the prevention of perinatal mortality. Therefore, more initiatives should be directed at educating patients about the importance of antenatal care, treatment adherence, and the use of unsafe traditional medicines for the induction of labour.