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Table 2 A comparison of selected quotes across FGDs; displays some example quotations from both FGDs side by side as a reference for a section within the discussion

From: A qualitative focus group study concerning perceptions and experiences of Nigerian mothers on stillbirths

FGD1: No previous stillbirth

FGD2: Previous stillbirth

Theme: Access to resources and clinical care

Transport

I feel women living in remote areas are at risk of stillbirth because they find it difficult to reach the hospital due to bad roads and lack of vehicles. (R10 FGD 1)

Women that live in remote areas are at risk of stillbirth because they find it difficult to reach the hospital due to distance. (R8 FGD3-2)

Bedspace

The first time I came, I was told that there was no bedspace in the labour room. However, after the nurse examined me, I was given a bed and I delivered my baby immediately. (R1 FGD1)

The first time I came, I did not get admitted because there was no bedspace. However, when I came back the second time I got admitted, booked for c-section.... (R1 FGD2)

In a previous pregnancy, I came to this hospital and was told that there was no bedspace. I gave birth on the floor. (R3 FGD1)

There was no bedspace, but the healthcare workers tried their best to get one for me and I was treated with good care. (R3 FGD2)

We were overcrowded and had to stay two people per bed. (R9 FGD2)

Delivery

I was told to go and lie down and try my best to deliver on my own when I complained to the midwife about pains. She only came when I alerted her that the baby’s head was out. (R2 FGD1)

I had to alert the midwife that the baby’s head was out after which she came and conducted the delivery and cleaned up the baby. (R2 FGD2)

The midwife was by my bedside because I came in fully dilated. She conducted the delivery and cleaned me up before leaving my side. (R1 FGD1)

I gave birth on the floor; I was told that the baby was not lying correctly (breech) and was told by Doctor X not to deliver by myself, but I didn’t get admitted. (R1 FGD2)

Aftercare

The midwife was with me and dressed the baby after delivery. (R6 FGD1)

After delivery, I was trying to clean the place up. The cleaning staff told me to stop doing it as cleaning is their job. She proceeded to clean the place. I thanked her and was very impressed. (R5 FGD2)

The wrapper that my baby was covered in was wet. I asked the cleaning staff to help call my relative to clean the baby up and she declined. (R2 FGD1)

 

Interactions

Some patients refuse to listen to the midwife’s instructions during delivery… and this causes stillbirth. I feel if women follow the midwife’s instructions during delivery it will prevent stillbirth. (R5 FGD1)

The midwives are not nice and are always shouting at patients. You cannot do anything to please them. They always seem angry. When in labour you have to deal with the pain and their attitude. (R8 FGD2)

Theme: Role within the family

Experiences within the household

I became afraid of delivery at home when my co-wife delivered her last baby. She had prolonged labour and was taken to another hospital where she was told that the baby was not lying correctly……and she delivered a stillborn…. (R4 FGD1)

So far, I have had three (3) c-section with only one live born baby. Meanwhile the second wife has been giving birth safely by herself [SVD]. (R2 FGD2)

The last baby was also stillborn and when she woke up after the surgery and asked the mother-in-law (who was by her bedside) about her baby, the mother-in-law said “Which baby? You gave birth to what you usually give birth to, a stillborn”. (R3 FGD2)

Accessing healthcare

I live in a traditional house with my husband’s relatives. No one goes to the hospital to give birth to a baby. Usually, deliveries are conducted at home by elderly women and/or women that have given birth before. Sometimes, a traditional birth attendant is called post-delivery. (R1 FGD1)

My husband’s relatives told him that there are traditional medicines that will make me deliver my baby by myself. I took them and my water broke, and for 3 days I endured the pain, but nothing happened. I called my father and told him about the situation. He told my husband to take me to the hospital so that even if I would have given birth by myself [SVD] it should be in the hospital. The doctor said I cannot deliver by myself [SVD] and if I had stayed any longer at home, I would have had a ruptured uterus. I delivered via c-section. (R2 FGD2)

My husband does not agree with the practice of giving birth at home, so he allows me to go to the hospital. (R2 FGD1)

My husband is very supportive of me and if I say I am going to the hospital he does not stop me and will sometimes go out of his way to take me to the hospital. (R5 FGD2)

My husband encourages us to go to the hospital because he says it is very important. (R4 FGD2)

Theme: Responsibility and self-care

Women that do not go for antenatal sessions and [do not] take vaccines are at risk of convulsions during pregnancy and this can cause stillbirth and maternal death. (R11 FGD1)

I feel that not going for antenatal and trying to keep count of the months of pregnancy by themselves leads to the mother not knowing that the baby has stayed too long in her womb. This could cause stillbirth. (R3 FGD3-2)

The mothers do not present early at the hospital. They wait until the labour has progressed and they have become too weak to push during delivery. This could cause stillbirth. (R2 FGD3-1)

I feel that lack of self-care is one of the causes of stillbirth. Some women do not eat good food that will be enough nourishment for them and the baby. (R1 FGD2)

Theme: Judgement and blame

Stillbirth is something that is destined for the woman that delivers a stillborn. (R2 FGD1)

…for any woman that gives birth to a stillborn, it was destined to happen. (R1 FGD2)

Her mother-in-law blamed her for giving birth to a stillborn and always tells her husband that she thinks his wife is not useful and wouldn’t give birth to children. (R3 FGD2)

They kept mocking me and encouraged my husband to get married to another woman that will give birth to live babies. (R1 FGD2)

They [husband’s relatives] would mock me, saying I go to the hospital for the smallest sicknesses. When I gave birth to my first baby, it was stillborn. They blamed it on my frequent hospital visits. (R1 FGD2)