This study investigates why postpartum women cannot or will not receive postpartum consultations at the maternity ward in Sokoura, Côte d'Ivoire. It aims to present the sociocultural, economic, infrastructural and organisational factors limiting new mothers' access to postpartum care and to suggest ways to encourage them to seek out such care. A qualitative approach was adopted and data was collected from individual interviews with new mothers and midwives. The results have elucidated the factors hindering postpartum consultations at the maternity ward in Sokoura and the broader sociological context in which they need to be assessed. The relevant factors are deficient knowledge about the post-partum period, new mothers' professional obligations, their spouses' limited financial means, the distance of the maternity ward, unfavourable transport conditions, tensions between new mothers and midwives, and inadequate organisation and management of the postpartum consultation services at the maternity ward. These obstacles to postpartum care can be broadly categorised as insufficient education, scarce social support and unfavourable environmental and medical conditions. To remedy these issues, it is necessary to foster community action targeting new mothers and their spouses, to develop midwives' cross-cultural skills, notably their capacity for anthropological observation, and to involve public authorities in the changes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.