From: Birth companionship in a government health system: a pilot study in Kigoma, Tanzania
Support to women | Support to providers | ||
---|---|---|---|
Emotional | Informational | Practical/instrumental | |
• Comfort/support • Encouragement (“sweet words”; will deliver safe by the will of God) • Reduce worries and give hope • Talk to women • Stay with women all the time • Help women feel “free” • Becoming a frienda | • Give advice • Remind women about hygiene • Translation • Educate women on breastfeeding, family planning, how to care for newborna | • Massages • Help women exercise • Hold hand • Help women into bed • Support to urinate/vomit • Hold legs/shoulders during delivery • Support women to walk after delivery • Accompany to antenatal careb • Encourage good diet • Help pack/carry things from homeb • Secure transportb • Bring tea and food • • Clean women/help them get dressed after birth • Wash clothes • Carry the baby or belongings, and help women to postnatal ward after delivery • Help contact family • Carry things home once dischargedb • Cook for womenb | • Alert providers when women need help/are ready to push • Keep women calm • Prepare delivery bed, clean bed after delivery • Help bring water/support providers to clean women • Reduce provider workload/give them time to do other things • Explain/reinforce provider instructions to women • Relay information to health providers (e.g., previous fistula) • Act as a link between providers and relatives • Welcome women to ward, collect antenatal care cards, show them bedsa • Help/remind nurses to take medical history and complete registera • Do light cleaning tasks in labor warda • Hold trays and bring supplies to providers, sometimes fetching from other wards or storea • Tell DBCs not to give local herbs or tell women to push too soona • Provide company/become a friend to providersa |