Emergency Childbirth and High Stress Level

Midwives throughout the world experience high stress levels when dealing with emergency childbirths, and Namibian midwives are not an exception. Their stress levels increase when the lives of the mother and baby are threatened. In case of death, they also experience grief for the loss of the baby or mother. There is a paucity of academic literature on midwives stress management. Again, no guidelines exist that specifically assist midwives to cope physically and emotionally with the stress associated with emergency childbirths. This book analysed the experiences of midwives who struggle to cope with emergency childbirths in a regional hospital in Namibia and develop guidelines to help midwives cope with such situations. Three main themes were identified namely: Midwives experienced significant stressors associated with emergency childbirth situations; Midwives experienced mixed emotions about dealing with emergency childbirth situations; Midwives shared their views regarding theirsupport needs associated with emergency childbirth situations. The guidelines developed in this book aim to help midwives cope with high stress levels associated with emergency childbirths.