Introduction
Labour pain management is an essential component in providing respectful maternity care and satisfying the needs of women who access childbirth services in healthcare facilities [
1,
2]. A significant number of women experience labour without proper pain management, resulting in unbearable pain that is described as the most agonizing experience of their lives [
3]. Prompt and effective labour pain relief is recommended to be offered based on the woman’s preferences, culture, and needs [
4]. Providing proper pain relief not only contributes to humanizing childbirth but also yields significant physiological and psychological benefits to both the mother and the baby [
5]. Unresolved labour pain can impair placental perfusion, resulting in late decelerations, foetal hypoxia and distress [
6]. It can also induce fear, stress, and confusion to the mother [
7].
Pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods (NPMs) are the main available options for labour pain management [
8]. The pharmacological methods include oral tablets, inhalation analgesia, intravenous and intramuscular opioids (pethidine or diamorphine), and epidural or spinal anaesthetic analgesia [
9]. Pharmacological methods for labour pain management are costly and are associated with side effects such as maternal nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, hypotension, urine retention, nerve damage, and prolonged labour [
1,
10‐
12]. Prolonged labour may predispose a woman to labour augmentation, instrumental delivery, and caesarean section delivery [
13]. These delivery methods may result in maternal complications, including rupture of the uterus, postpartum haemorrhage, sepsis, and maternal and perinatal deaths [
14].
The NPMs include the use of birth preparation classes, breathing exercises, massages, music, warm showers, birth balls, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) during the early stages of labour [
4,
15]. Despite the wide variation in NPMs [
16], it is encouraged to use any of the NPM approaches to relieve labour pain. NPMs are considered simple, cost-effective, manageable, induce calm, and help women to cope with labour pain [
1]. Moreover, using NPMs for labour pain relief alleviates stress, tends to lessen urgent and operative interventions, and makes women favour a natural birth experience. [
17].
The provider’s willingness, knowledge, perceptions, attitude, practice, and beliefs influence the use of NPMs in managing labour pain [
18,
19]. The familiarity with NPMs and professional experiences with deliveries conducted may also impact the use of NPMs for managing labour pain [
20]. Furthermore, the literature indicates that the availability of policy, supportive infrastructure, and resources influences the utilization of NPMs for labour pain management [
20,
21]. In many low- and low-middle-income countries, including Tanzania, women in labour are mainly managed by nurse-midwives; thus, they are a good target for implementing NPMs for labour pain management [
10,
22‐
24]. A nurse-midwife in Tanzania is a professional who has completed a 3- or 4-year training program in midwifery and nursing at an accredited college or university and holds a license to practice [
25].
In high-income countries, pharmacological labour pain management is a fundamental part of the labour process, and women have access to a range of pain relief options for labour and birth [
18,
26,
27]. Conversely, in low- and low-middle-income countries, people often disregard labour pain management, viewing labour pain as a natural process that women should be able to cope with [
18]. There are no clear labour pain management guidelines or policies [
28,
29], but the existing intrapartum and respectful maternity care guidelines promote using labour pain relief approaches such as psychological support [
30]. Several factors, including limited awareness, misunderstandings regarding safety and acceptability, and the availability of pain relief options, contribute to the limited use of pharmacological methods for labour pain relief in these countries [
31,
32]. Despite the limited use of pharmacological labour pain management methods, there is paucity of information regarding the use of NPMs for labour pain management. This study explored the barriers for using NPMs to manage labour pain as reported by nurse-midwives from two selected district hospitals in eastern Tanzania.
Discussion
We aimed to explore the barriers to using NPMs to manage labour pain by nurse-midwives working in labour wards in two selected district hospitals in eastern Tanzania. Our study findings indicated that the limited competencies of nurse-midwives regarding the use of NPMs, critical staff shortages, and unfavourable environments in healthcare facilities were the main barriers to using NPMs to manage labour pain. Participants highlighted the limited privacy and physical space, lack of utilities, lack of pain management guidelines, and limited incentives constrained the provision of labour pain relief to women.
Our findings show that many NPMs were not widely understood by the nurse-midwives, which hinders their ability to offer them to women. Consistent with our findings, several studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries demonstrate that nurse-midwives have insufficient skills in using NPMs to manage labour pain [
1,
26]. Furthermore, our study confirmed what has been documented by other authors: a midwife with less work experience or who conducted fewer deliveries is less likely to demonstrate competence in labour pain management and may lack motivation to do so [
20,
44]. In Tanzania, diploma-level and higher education training curricula are competency-based, which contradicts the limited competencies among nurse-midwives revealed by our study [
45]. There are three possible explanations for this disparity: inadequate implementation of competence-based training systems, limited hands-on exposure for students, or insufficient use of NPMs for labour pain management by senior healthcare providers.
Our findings demonstrate that nurse-midwives perceive labour pain as a normal event that requires tolerability rather than management, which prevents the use of labour pain relief techniques. Other studies from developing countries also report this finding [
19,
20,
46]. The latter studies showed that people regarded labour pain as a natural process that women should learn to cope with it. These perceptions are in contrary to what has been reported in developed countries, where labour pain management is a fundamental aspect of intrapartum care and women have the autonomy to choose their preferred pain relief method [
47].
The healthcare providers’ attitudes and beliefs towards labour pain management may affect the use of NPMs to manage labour pain [
18,
19,
48]. In our study, participants misconceived the idea of relieving labour pain and believed that the pain is necessary for a successful birth. This negative attitude towards labour pain contributed to not using the NPMs to manage labour pain. Accordingly, obstetrics healthcare providers with a good attitude are more likely to use NPMs for labour pain management compared to those with a negative attitude [
19,
49]. These findings demonstrate the necessity of moulding the attitudes of nurse-midwives and obstetricians through continued professional development and mentorship to help mitigate this challenge.
Our findings indicate that a heavy workload amidst a staff shortage challenged the provision of NPMs to manage labour pain. This finding conforms to what Tanzania has documented: the country has a critical shortage of healthcare workers, impacting the delivery of quality care. [
50,
51]. The effect of a shortage of staff in the healthcare system on the quality of care, including the provision of NPMs to women for labour pain relief, is not unique to Tanzania [
1,
20]. The Matlala and Lumadi study directly links the shortage of medical personnel, particularly nurse-midwives, to poor quality care delivery due to increased workload, leading to low morale and burnout [
52].
Our study findings revealed that the insufficiency of supporting utilities in delivery rooms, including water and showers, a lack of privacy, and physical space restricted the application of NPMs. The availability of supportive infrastructure could enable nurse-midwives to instruct women to walk, squat, take showers, or even bring a birth companion. Literature shows that the unfavourable working conditions in healthcare facilities, which are characterized by substandard infrastructure, can be a significant barrier to using NPMs for labour pain management [
46,
53]. Ensuring the appropriate set-up and design of delivery rooms is crucial to facilitating the implementation of labour pain relief techniques and, consequently, delivering high-quality childbirth care.
To facilitate a humanized childbirth experience, the Tanzanian respectful maternity care guideline recommends that every woman receive respectful care, continuous emotional support, and a companion of her choice [
54]. Conversely, our study revealed that nurse-midwives lacked knowledge of NPMs for labour pain management due to their unfamiliarity with labour pain management guidelines. The absence of appropriate guidelines and policies influences healthcare providers not to use NPMs to manage labour pain [
2,
10]. Pre-service training, on-the-job training, and provider policies and guidelines all provide essential knowledge that substantiates the implementation of labour pain management techniques during childbirth in healthcare facilities [
49]. This barrier may be partly mitigated by revisiting policies and guidelines to incorporate labour pain relief measures as an essential element of quality of care.
Implications to nursing practice, education and research
This study provides an in-depth description from nurse-midwives of important barriers to address for labour pain management as part of the care provided to women during labour. Uncovering the barriers that nurse-midwives face to using NPMs provides evidence that improving nursing and midwifery knowledge and skills is key to enhancing the quality of care provided during childbirth. Promoting the uptake of NPMs is dependent on improved healthcare facility infrastructure, the availability of guidelines and policies, and having an adequate number of midwives. Moreover, nurse-midwives should receive in-service training on using NPMs for managing labour pain, cultivating positive attitudes towards using NPMs, and advocating for including NPMs in nursing and midwifery curricula. In addition, promoting the use of NPMs for labour pain management helps women cope with pain without relying on medications, feel more in control of their labour and birthing process, and thus have a positive childbirth experience. To develop measures to encourage the use of NPMs, a mixed-methods research study analyzing their practice and the reason for their low uptake is essential.
Study strengths and limitations
Although we enhanced the methodology rigor of our study through Lincoln and Guba`s four criteria —credibility, dependability, transferability and confirmability [
55], it is not without limitations. The major limitation of our study was the social desirability effect. The study lead was a nurse-midwife, potentially leading participants to respond in favour of the researcher’s expectations. However, we adopted different strategies to offset this limitation. Firstly, we triangulated the midwife researcher with other researchers who were not midwives during the conduct of the interviews. Secondly, the participants ranged from junior to senior midwives, and the team lead, who was in her mid-career, provided a comfortable speaking environment for these diverse groups. Third, adopting saturation within and across facilities ensured adequate participants to offset social desirability. Finally, the research team’s vast experience ensured that study participants received an adequate explanation of the study’s objective before the interviews began.
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