12 Perceived Psychological Effects of Witnessing a Traumatic Clinical Childbirth Event among Midwives in Niger State

Speaker:Amina Ahmad

Facilitator:Sa-ada Sadique

Abstract:

Midwives frequently encounter obstetric emergencies that may result in traumatic childbirth events constituting a significant psychological burden on them. The study was to assess perceived psychological effects of traumatic childbirth among midwives working in secondary health facilities in Niger State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional design was used to collect data from 160 midwives via purposive sampling technique. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire incorporating an adapted Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize respondents’ characteristics and perceived psychological effects, while Chi-square tests was applied to determine associations between selected variables at a 0.05 level of significance. Midwives reported considerable levels of Secondary Traumatic Stress, with an overall mean score of 3.40, indicating frequent occurrence of symptoms. On the emotional domain, feeling very upset when reminded of the stressful experience recorded a high mean score (3.90). In cognitive domain, strong negative beliefs about oneself, others, or the world emerged with highest mean scores (3.97). For behavioral domain, avoidance of external reminders of the stressful experience was most pronounced symptom with a mean score of (4.04). Significant associations were found between psychological distress and years of experience (χ² = 14.72, p = 0.012), ward of posting (χ² = 11.35, p = 0.021), and monthly workload (χ² = 9.44, p = 0.024). Traumatic childbirth has a substantial psychological impact on midwives in the selected secondary health care facilities of Niger State. Structured debriefing, trauma-informed training, and institutional mental-health support are recommended.