Midwives’ emotional distress over maternal death: The case of Ashanti Region

Abstract

Emotional distress associated with the death of human beings cannot be underestimated. Much as it affects the immediate family members, midwives who witness death of pregnant patients are not spared the emotional distress. Emotional distress affects the general health, behaviour, productivity and job satisfaction of nurses and midwives. However, there is inadequate literature on how midwives in the Ashanti Region of Ghana become emotionally distressed after they experience maternal death. This study sought to explore and describe lived experiences of midwives’ emotional distress over maternal death at work using a qualitative approach. The study consisted of 57 participants (18 supervisors and 39 ward midwives) selected using the purposive sampling technique. Data collection was done through focus group discussions using semi-structured interviews. The responses collected were managed by qualitative computer data analysis package (Atlas.ti version 7.1.7) and the Thematic Content Analysis was used for analyzing the data. Four major themes emerged from this study: feeling sad or bad, traumatised, disorganised, and death seen as unpleasant, painful and inhumane. Main recommendation embodied institution of support programmes in hospitals without them, to help workers cope with such distress, help lessen the distress that midwives go through, improve quality of services provided, as well as provide job satisfaction.