Navigating and manipulating childbirth services in Afar, Ethiopia: A qualitative study of cultural safety in the birthing room.

ABSTRACT: Access to maternal health services has increased in Ethiopia during the past decades. However, increasing the demand for government birthing facility use remains challenging. In Ethiopia's Afar Region, these challenges are amplified given the poorly developed infrastructure, pastoral nature of communities, distinct cultural traditions, and the more nascent health system. This paper features semi-structured interviews with 22 women who were purposively sampled to explore their experiences giving birth in government health facilities in Afar. We used thematic analysis informed by a cultural safety framework to interpret findings. Our findings highlight how women understand, wield, and relinquish power and agency in the delivery room in government health facilities in Afar, Ethiopia. We found

SUBMITTER: Hagaman A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10410251 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature