Tanzanian midwives' views on becoming a good resource and support person for postpartum women.
OBJECTIVE
to explore midwives' views in relation to the provision of systematic postpartum care.


METHODS
qualitative focus group study using grounded theory approach.


METHODS
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.


METHODS
49 nurse/midwives in five focus group discussions, each having 9-11 participants.


RESULTS
eight categories were identified: 'reflecting', 'getting ready', 'defining abilities', 'networking', 'integrating', 'balancing', 'dealing with reality', and 'caring'. The identified core category that integrated and encapsulated all other categories was 'becoming a good resource and support person for postpartum woman'. The mediating factors found to have potential for influencing how a midwife can function in order to become a good resource and support person were: a) the structure and approach in maternal and child health services, b) midwives' knowledge, attitude and skills, c) informal sources of knowledge to parents, and d) cultural beliefs and practices.


CONCLUSIONS
the findings of this study provide an understanding of the way midwives feel and think about the provision of postpartum care. The findings demonstrate that midwives need support in their efforts to achieve what they consider necessary for postpartum care. Interventions for educating and supporting midwives should be targeted at enabling them to deal with all the factors that influence their role and help them to identify and use better strategies to provide quality care.
Lugina
H I
HI
Faculty of Nursing, Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Hlugina@muchs.ac.tz
Lindmark
G
G
Johansson
E
E
Christensson
K
K
D000739:Anecdotes as Topic; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008880:Midwifery / Q000592:standards*; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011181:Postnatal Care / Q000592:standards*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013636:Tanzania