Speaker: Jessica Brumley
Facilitator: Caitlin Goodwin
Midwifery has played a critical role in maternal and newborn care throughout our history, yet its integration into the healthcare system has been marked by challenges and transformation. This presentation explores the historical trajectory of midwifery. The current landscape highlights a growing recognition of midwifery’s benefits, including improved maternal outcomes, reduced interventions, and enhanced patient-centered care. Despite this progress, barriers such as restrictive regulations, inconsistent legislative policies, and disparities in access persist.
Looking ahead, the future of midwifery integration depends on policy reform, interprofessional collaboration, and public awareness to strengthen midwives’ role in addressing the maternal health crisis. A strong professional association is critical in advancing the midwifery agenda and strengthening the profession.
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Speakers: Salamatu Umar, Hayat Imaam Gomma & Mardiya Adamu
Facilitator: Jane Houston
Background: Globally, water birth is viewed with mixed opinions. While some countries endorse it for benefits like pain relief and a soothing birthing environment, others are cautious due to safety concerns and limited evidence on long-term outcomes.
Aim: This study assessed perceptions of water birth among reproductive-age women in Gombe State, Nigeria, focusing on perceived benefits and risks.
Method: A sequential explanatory mixed-method design was used, incorporating multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected from 418 respondents via self-structured and online questionnaires. In-depth interviews were conducted in the qualitative phase using convenience sampling. Ethical guidelines were strictly followed. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis.
Result: Findings indicated that 77.25% of participants held a positive view of water birth, with 80.9% believing it enhances the birth experience. However, 54.8% identified neonatal water aspiration as a potential risk. Qualitative results highlighted mixed perceptions: while some participants were positive and interested in trying water birth, others remained skeptical, expressing concerns about its safety.
Conclusion: The study found a generally positive perception of water birth among reproductive-age women, though concerns about neonatal risks such as water aspiration and maternal infection persisted.
Recommendations: Community outreach programs are essential to address misconceptions and skepticism engaging community leaders to foster positive perceptions and Support from NGOs for advocacy, funding, and awareness-raising to enhance water birth’s acceptance and safety in Gombe State.
Speaker: Jamie Hanson
Facilitator: Celine Lemay
Non-access to Perinatal mental health services for Black African Women can lead to increased perinatal morbidity and mortality in relation to mental health. Three quarters of Black and Brown Women’s morbidity is associated with suicide in the postnatal period, and they are more likely to experience adverse outcomes during pregnancy and the postnatal period compared to white women (MBRRACE, 2023). Health inequalities within maternity services also increase the risk of mental health challenges which is exacerbated by unemployment, poverty and homelessness which adds to the challenges of the women accessing perinatal mental health services (Rothman et al, 2020). There is also the associated stigma within the Black African community in declaring mental health challenges and it being viewed as ‘shameful’ and embarrassing to admit to feeling depression leading to alienation and preventing the women form seeking help from health professionals (Watson et al, 2019). The reluctance to access support is also compounded by negative experiences from health professionals and engagement with primary care (Edge and Mackian, 2010). What we don’t know is how the women can be supported in accessing services and what is required to be on place. The contribution to knowledge is exploring and describing attitudes to perinatal mental health, listening to the women’s voices and understanding the service and how it can be improved. Methods An Exploratory Descriptive Qualitative (EDQ) study design was employed which allows for a social constructivist and interpretivist approach (Reid and Happell, 2012).
