A profile of midwifery in Paraguay

Abstract

Objective: The goal of this study was to provide a descriptive profile of midwifery in Paraguay.

Design: The study involved three components: background research from official documents and key informant interviews to complete questionnaires, qualitative interviews with Paraguayan midwives and obstetricians, and participant observation. Data from official documents and questionnaires were tabulated using descriptive statistics. Individual interviews and small-group interviews of midwives, student midwives, and obstetricians were conducted in five health departments of Paraguay.

Setting: The research took place in the capital of Paraguay, Asunción, and four additional health departments: Central, Cordillera, Guira, and Misiones.

Participants: Twenty-two midwives, nine student midwives, nine obstetricians, and five leaders of professional health organisations in Paraguay participated in this study.

Findings: Three salient themes were identified throughout the interviews. First was the understanding of the changing role of the midwife in the health system, particularly in and around the capital city of Asunción. Second, midwives and obstetricians both reported that women were not sufficiently prepared for labour and birth during the antenatal period. Limited antenatal education and childbirth classes existed and midwives felt that this was a major barrier to vaginal birth. Finally, access to midwife-provided antenatal care is perceived to be limited. A major barrier to accessing midwifery care for women in the capital is related to the midwives' changing role in practice. Obstetricians are now providing antenatal care more often than they used to, and in some public hospitals they also attend vaginal deliveries.

Key conclusions and implications: Limiting the utilisation of midwives may well be a major contributor to the rising rates of caesarean sections. Women are not prepared for labour and birth in the antenatal period, or are scheduled for elective caesarean sections antenatal ly. Midwives are not fulfilling their potential to prepare women for labour and birth, despite their high-level professional training. Midwives have the potential to improve antenatal preparation for low-intervention birth. This transition in care provision would be a more effective use of human resources for both obstetricians and midwives.

Keywords: Antenatal care; Latin America; Maternal Health Services; Midwifery.