Understanding Women’s Attitudes Toward Midwifery Practices for Maternal Care in Middle Georgia
Compared to other high-income countries, women in the United States are more likely to die from problems related to pregnancy and childbirth. In Georgia, maternal mortality is particularly acute. Midwifery models of maternal care have been shown to produce positive pregnancy and childbirth outcomes for patients, but these services are underutilized in Georgia. This study sought to identify women’s attitudes toward midwifery, what contributed to those attitudes, and what influenced women in Middle Georgia to seek midwifery services using a qualitative, Grounded Theory approach. Three participants who self-identified as having used a midwife before were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol. The evidence from this study, despite its limited sample size, points to three key factors driving participants’ positive attitude toward midwives and the practice of midwifery: control of birthing circumstance, quality in health professionals, and physical and mental empowerment. Interviews also indicated exposure to midwifery as a potential mode of care and fear, real or imagined, drove women to seek midwifery. The study demonstrated a potential wellspring of information that could be gleaned from rural populations in Georgia to understand drivers behind the maternal health crisis in Georgia, and what changes to health communication could be made to increase use of midwifery services.
Midwife, Midwifery, Maternal Care, Qualitative, Grounded Theory, Communication, Health Communication
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations