Violence during childbirth, a major cause of maternal mortality.

A study conducted by the University of Konstanz, Germany in collaboration with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has identified violence during childbirth as a leading cause of maternal mortality in Ghana.

The Study led by a German-based Ghanaian researcher, Dr. Abena Yalley, examined women’s experiences during childbirth and the prevalence of obstetric violence in Ghana.

The study which involved 2,142 Ghanaian mothers in Ashanti and Western Regions revealed that two out of every three pregnant women had suffered violence in the hands of health professionals during labour and childbirth.

The research noted shouting or yelling, beating of women in Labour, stitching of episiotomy without an anesthesia by health professionals after deliveries were some of the common but most dangerous practices in facilities.

In reaction to the research findings at the University of Cape Coast on 24th August, 2023, Mrs. Isha Wiredu, a Midwife at Assin Fosu Polyclinic admitted violence as major barrier to facility-based deliveries in Ghana.

She noted that the profession required that practitioners treat every patient as they would their relatives, noting that if that was done, it would encourage positive birth experiences for women.

Ms Mavis Ferguson Eshun, Midwife at the Effutu Health Centre said the nursing profession was one that required total dedication and tolerance guided by the principles and ethics of the profession, good judgment and compassion, and give pregnant women dignified care.

“Nursing is not just a profession but a calling. The profession deals with human lives and is very sensitive, so the attitude you exhibit towards patients forms a critical part of their health care,” she said.

The perceived impact of violence by health professionals according to the study had resulted in many women preferring traditional birth attendants to skilled birth attendants.

Women who had suffered this violence had also been affected either psychologically or emotionally and feared to attend the facility for deliveries.

A situation which the study established could reduce the gains on maternal and newborn deaths and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV and AIDS.

The study recommended that curricula of Health institutions must be revisited, and students armed with information on giving a empathic care to their work, strategic intervention to break the cycle of violence and complaints systems to enable the abuse to channel grievances.