Iranian midwives’ experiences of using the World Health Organization’s Safe Childbirth Checklist: A qualitative research

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The goal of natural childbirth care is to have a healthy mother and baby with minimal interventions that are contrary to health. Worldwide, there is concern that non-evidence-based interventions and care in labor and childbirth will remain standard practice. Therefore, access to care related to pregnancy and childbirth is considered a priority. To address safety concerns during organized births, the Safe Childbirth Checklist (SCC) was created by the World Health Organization (WHO). This checklist is a tool that combines evidence-based practices that should be provided before, during, and after childbirth. As midwives have a vital role in using this up-to-date evidence, this study was conducted to explore Iranian midwives’ perception of using SCC. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This qualitative study was conducted from January 2022 to April 2023 in two public (teaching and nonteaching) hospitals in Ahvaz, Iran. Seventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted with midwives who had more than one year of work experience in maternity wards. Participants were selected purposefully. A content analysis approach was used to analyze the data and extract themes. RESULTS: All midwives had a positive attitude toward using SCC. The midwives’ reasons for being in favor of using the checklist during the clinical procedures of childbirth are summarized in four main themes, namely “standardized maternity care practices,” “SCC as a guide for performing essential childbirth practices,” “self-efficacy of midwifery care,” and “improved maternal and neonatal outcomes.” CONCLUSION: Midwives have endorsed this checklist as a guide to standard childbirth management. It seems that the use of this checklist will help to improve the health outcomes of mothers and babies by strengthening the self-efficacy of midwives.