Obstetrics care providers attitude and utilization of non-pharmacological labor pain management in Harari regional state health facilities, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background In a woman’s life, labor pain is the most severe pain that they have ever faced. In Ethiopia, the provision of pain relief in labor is often neglected. Furthermore, evidence strongly urged that further research is needed on non-pharmacological labor pain management. Therefore, obstetrics care providers’ attitudes and utilization of non-pharmacological labor pain management need to be assessed. Method A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 20 to June 10, 2021, in Harari regional state health facilities, Ethiopia. All obstetric caregivers in Harari regional state health facilities were included in the study. A structured questionnaire adapted from the previous studies was used to collect data. The data was entered into Epi-data version 3.1 statistical software. Statistical analysis was carried out by using SPSS for windows version 22. Multivariate linear regression analysis was employed to determine the association between independent variables and the outcome variable. Result The overall utilization of non-pharmacological labor pain relief methods was 59.3% [(95% CI (53.9,63.4)]. Three hundred five (65.5%) of the study participants had unfavorable attitudes. Females compared to males (β = − 0.420; 95% CI: − 0.667, − 0.173), clinical experience (β = − 0.201; 95% CI: − 0.268, − 0.134), knowledge sum score (β =0.227: 95%; CI: 0.18,0.247), and attitude sum score (β = 0.376; 95% CI: 0.283, 0.47) were showed significantly association with utilization of non-pharmacological labor pain management. Conclusion The overall utilization of non-pharmacological labor pain relief methods was relatively good compared to other studies done in Ethiopia but all women’s need for labor relief methods should not be ignored. In this study sex of the respondents, clinical experience, individual preference, attitude and knowledge were factors associated with the utilization of non-pharmacological labor pain management. All stake holds need to work together to improve the attitude of health providers and to increase the utilization of non-pharmacologic labor pain management.

Nonpharmacological pain relief for labour pain: knowledge, attitude, and barriers among obstetric care providers

“…In the same line, Eyeberu et al (2022) found that 82.7% of the OCPs had adequate knowledge regarding NPPR, and only 12.5% only knew all types of NPPR. The most known NPPR type among their participants was psychotherapy and massaging ( Eyeberu et al, 2022 ).…”

“…In the same line, Eyeberu et al (2022) found that 82.7% of the OCPs had adequate knowledge regarding NPPR, and only 12.5% only knew all types of NPPR. The most known NPPR type among their participants was psychotherapy and massaging ( Eyeberu et al, 2022 ). Besides, ( Emelonye et al (2017) illustrated that most of the midwives who participated in the study acknowledged the husband’s presence and support during labor as an important NPPR method, but only one-quarter of them applied it in real practice.…”

“…On the contrary, Eyeberu et al (2022) studied obstetricians’ utilization and attitude toward NPPR for Ethiopian women. They illustrated that although a high percentage of their participant utilized NPPR methods, 65.5% of them had an unfavorable attitude toward it.…”

“…The knowledge and attitude of nurses and other OCPs greatly influence the utilization of NPPR methods. Unfortunately, evidence has found that approximately two-thirds of OCPs have inadequate knowledge (66.9%) and unfavorable attitudes (65.5%) toward NPPR ( Kheshti et al, 2016 ; Eyeberu et al, 2022 ), resulting in the underutilization of these methods (30.4%) ( Bishaw, Sendo & Abebe, 2020 ) Several barriers prevent OCPs from implementing NPPR methods ( Bradfield et al, 2019 ). Many OCPs doubt the effectiveness of NPPR compared to pharmacological options ( Boateng, Kumi & Diji, 2019 ).…”

The Role of Midwives in the Course of Natural Childbirth—Analysis of Sociodemographic and Psychosocial Factors—A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In Ethiopian research, slightly more than 59% of the surveyed birth-room employees use non-pharmacological methods to relieve labor pain [ 38 ]. Our own research has shown, however, that most midwives use the previously mentioned methods, and this is mainly massage and music therapy.…”