Childbirth at home: A qualitative study exploring perceptions of risk and risk management among Baloch women in Iran

Objective

to explain how women who choose to give birth at home perceive and manage the risks related to childbirth.

Design

a qualitative, methodological approach drawing upon the principles of grounded theory. Data were gathered by in-depth interviews with women who had given birth at home.

Setting

the study was conducted in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Balochestan province in southeast Iran.

Participants

21 Baloch women aged 13–39 years who had a planned home birth were interviewed. Nine had been attended by university-educated midwives, eight by trained midwives, and four by traditional birth attendants.

Findings

concerning perceived risks, women perceived giving birth in hospital to be risky because of medical interventions, routines and ethical considerations. The perceived risks for home birth were acute medical conditions. Women made their decision to give birth at home based on existing verbal, visual, and intuitive information. The following two categories related to risk management were identified: (1) psychological preparation and (2) medical and logistican preparation. All of the women relied on their own intuition, their midwife and the sociopsychological support of their families to transfer them to hospital in the case of complications.

Key conclusions and implications for practice

the women who chose to give birth at home accepted that there was a risk of complications, but perceived these to be due to fate. Technical risks were considered to be a consequence of the decision to give birth in hospital, and were perceived to be avoidable. In addition, the women considered ethical issues as risks that are sometimes more important than medical complications. Women's perceptions of risk, and the ways in which they prepare to manage risk, are central issues to help providers and policy makers adjust services to women's expectations in order to respond to the individuality of each woman.