Women's hospital birth experiences in Harar, eastern Ethiopia: a qualitative study using Roy's Adaptation Model.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to explore women's birth in public hospitals in the Harari Region of eastern Ethiopia. DESIGN: An exploratory phenomenological qualitative study design was used. SETTING: Two public hospitals (Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital and Jugal General Hospital). PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: The study enrolled women who gave birth at the selected hospitals through purposive sampling. We conducted in-depth interviews with 38 women who gave birth to singleton, full-term babies via vaginal delivery (47%; n=18) or caesarean section (53%; n=20) with no pregnancy-related complications. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed on the spot and the interviews were analysed using a deductive content analysis approach. Data were analysed using the four components of Roy's Adaptation Model (RAM) as a guiding framework of women's experiences: physiological, self-concept, role and function, and interdependence. RESULTS: Various behaviours were identified: under physiological mode, common behaviours identified included labour pain, fatigue, surgical site pain and anaesthesia-related complication. The women's major problems in self-concept mode were concern for future pregnancy, lack of privacy, newborn health status, relationship with healthcare providers and lack of family support. Due to the prolonged hospital stay and surgical site pain, the women who were unable to care for themselves, their newborn babies and their families adapted poorly to role and function mode. Finally, women who had no family support and who got less attention from healthcare providers reported ineffective adaption for interdependence mode. CONCLUSIONS: Application of RAM principles could be used to improve care for Ethiopian women, providing an intervention framework that can gauge and respond to interacting factors that can make women vulnerable to negative birth experiences.

Predictors of success of trial of labor after cesarean section: A nested case-control study at public hospitals in Eastern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: One of the primary reasons for an increase in cesarean sections is obstetricians' uncertainty about labor trial safety following a previous cesarean section. The success rate of vaginal birth after cesarean section with a single cesarean scar is greater than 50%. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is a scarcity of information on the determinants of vaginal birth after cesarean delivery in the study area. As a result, the purpose of this study was to identify predictors of successful vaginal birth after cesarean delivery in public hospitals in Eastern Ethiopia. METHODS: A nested case-control study design was used within a prospective follow-up study conducted from June to October 2020. A total of 220 women who tried vaginal birth after cesarean delivery was included, 110 cases and 110 controls. Cases were women with one previous cesarean section scar and successfully proceed with vaginal delivery. The controls were those with an earlier cesarean section scar and delivered by emergency cesarean section after trial of labor. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to gather the information. Multiple logistic regression is used to identify the determinants for the success of vaginal birth after cesarean section; odds ratio with its 95% CI are used to report the findings. RESULTS: We found that living in rural areas (AOR = 2.28; 95% CI (1.85, 12.41)), having a current antenatal care follow-up (AOR = 3.20; 95% CI (1.15, 8.87)) and partograph monitoring of labor (AOR = 4.26; 95% CI (1.90, 9.57)) had a positive association with successful vaginal birth after cesarean section. In contrast, the presence of meconium-stained amniotic liquor (AOR = 0.10; 95% CI (0.01, 0.75)) and history of stillbirth (AOR = 0.07; 95% CI (0.02, 0.53)) reducing the chance of success of the trial. CONCLUSION: Past obstetric history, such as stillbirth, history of labor trial after primary cesarean section, and prior vaginal birth, were significant predictors for achieving vaginal birth after cesarean section. Antenatal care visit, and partograph follow-up were the current obstetric characteristics positively associated with the trial of labor.

Adverse Neonatal Outcome are More Common among Babies Born by Cesarean Section than Naturally Born Babies at Public Hospitals in Eastern Ethiopia: A Comparative Prospective Follow-Up Study at Eastern Ethiopia.

The adverse neonatal outcome is defined as the presence of birth asphyxia, respiratory distress, birth trauma, hypothermia, meconium aspiration syndrome, neonatal intensive care admission, and neonatal death. It is a major concern in developing countries, including Ethiopia. This study tried to identify predictors of adverse neonatal outcomes at selected public hospitals in Eastern Ethiopia. A hospital-based prospective follow-up study was conducted in three public hospitals in Eastern Ethiopia from June to October 2020. A total of 2,246 laboring women and neonates born at the hospitals were enrolled in the study. Data were collected through interviews, observation checklists, and clinical chart review. Reports were presented in relative risks with 95% CIs. The overall magnitude of adverse neonatal outcome was 20.97% (95% CI: 19.33- 22.71%). It was 24.3% for babies born through cesarean section (95% CI: 21.3%, 27.5). The presence of meconium in the amniotic fluid increased the risk for neonates delivered via cesarean section (ARR, 1.52 95% CI; 1.04, 2.22). Among neonates born via vaginal delivery, the risk of adverse neonatal outcome was higher among nullipara women (ARR, 1.42 95% CI; 1.02, 1.99) and among women diagnosed with abnormal labor or pregnancy such as APH, pre-eclampsia, obstructed labor, fetal distress, and mal-presentation at admission (ARR, 1.30 95%CI; 1.01, 1.67). The risk of adverse neonatal outcome was higher among babies born through the cesarian section than those born via vaginal delivery. Abnormal labor or pregnancy and being primiparous increased the risk of adverse neonatal outcome in vaginal delivery.