Traditional birth attendants’ labour pain management experiences from parturients care

Abstract

Aim: The study explored Traditional Birth Attendants’ (TBAs’) perceptions of labour pain management experiences from parturients carin the Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State Nigeria. Methods: The study adopted a phenomenological-hermeneutics research design. Using the purposive and snowball sampling technique13 TBAs were recruited for this study. The data collection strategy was in-depth face-to-face interviews. Results: Three major themes emerged: (1) TBAs’ beliefs and attitude to labour pain, (2) TBAs’ experiences of pain management durinlabour and (3) remedies provided to relieve labour pain and support to speed up childbirth. Conclusions: Pain is a natural phenomenon but expressed differently from one parturient to another. TBAs’ perception of labour pain an indicator of how TBAs interpret and manage labour pain expressed by parturients. TBAs management approaches are more effectivwith the use of locally available remedies in form of herbs aimed at speeding up the delivery process.