Table 1 Healthcare providers' quotes of enabling factors
THEME 1: Enabling factors for providing pain relief | ||
|---|---|---|
Sub-theme | Quote | |
Positive attitudes | Q 1 | “If there are pain relief drugs to give the mothers, let it come and be provided to the mothers so that they deliver peacefully. I could see that it’s better and good, and it will be helpful to the mother.” (Nurse-midwife, KII) |
Q 2 | “I think [pain relief] should be part of management for those women who would wish to get that service.” (Specialist registrar in O&G, KII) | |
Q 3 | “I think it is good to provide [pain relief] because the labour pain is too much, and you go through the pain for hours and hours.” (Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, KII) | |
Knowledge of pain relief options | Q 4 | “We are taught to allow the woman to walk; that could help to minimize the pain, also if there is a chance, the woman must be massaged on the back.” (Nurse-midwife, KII) |
Q 5 | “You can do back rubbing, or […] ambulation, like sitting and walking or positioning; there is also partner involvement and […] bathing.” (Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, KII) | |
Q 6 | “I was reading in the internet that in some settings they have water birth delivery, that this is something to reduce pain.” (Midwife, KII) | |
Q 7 | “There is acupuncture, that can be used to relief the pain, but we don’t have anyone who is familiar with it.” (Midwife, FGD) | |
Current practice | Q 8 | “To the mother in labour pain, I reassure her, I massage her […] I tell her to breath in and out to get relief and sometimes when she is tired, I encourage her; if she’s feeling like to bath, then I encourage her to bath.” (Nurse-midwife, KII) |
Q 9 | “If she comes with a husband, or mother or mother-in-law, sometimes it is helpful, as you can call the relative […] to talk with the woman sometimes it helps to release the suffering.” (Specialist registrar in O&G, KII). | |
Q 10 | “Once the woman is contracting more and the cervix is not growing well with the contractions, we give buscopan or hyoscine, so at least the pain is a little bit reduced and the cervix is moving on.” (Midwife, KII) | |
Q 11 | “During labour, I think mostly we use buscopan and paracetamol.” (Specialist registrar in O&G, KII) | |
Q 12 | “For Caesarean sections, the protocol is pethidine for 24 h, thereafter we do give the paracetamol.” (Midwife, KII) | |
Q 13 | “When you have an episiotomy, it must be lignocaine, local analgesia and sutured.” (Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, KII) | |