BackgroundProfessional midwives have an important role to play in midwifery training to produce a competent midwife. According to the social learning theory, professional midwives act as role models for students. When allocated for clinical learning experiences in the training hospitals, students will have the opportunity to observe the well-trained, skilled, and experienced professional midwives. The whole process will enable students to integrate theory with practice and they will become competent.AimThe aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting integration of midwifery nursing science theory with clinical practice as perceived by midwives.SettingThe study was conducted at the training hospitals in Vhembe district of the Limpopo Province, South Africa. These hospitals were: Donald Fraser, Siloam, and Tshidzini.MethodsA qualitative explorative, descriptive and contextual design was used. A Non-probability, convenient sampling method was used to select 11 midwives from the following hospitals: Donald Fraser, Siloam, and Tshidzini, in Vhembe district. In-depth individual interviews were conducted. Data were analysed through open coding method.ResultOne theme and five sub-themes emerged from the analysed data, namely: shortage of midwives, attitudes towards student midwives, reluctance to perform teaching functions, language barriers, and declining midwifery practice standards.ConclusionShortage of midwives in the clinical areas led to fewer numbers of mentors whom the students could observe and imitate to acquire clinical skills. Some of the midwives were reluctant to teach students. Recommendations were made for both training institutions and hospitals to employ preceptors for students in the clinical practical.

Background: Inadequate neonatal facilities in rural areas is one of the challenges affecting the management of preterm infants. In low income countries with limited resources, over 90% of preterm babies die within few days of life. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the challenges encountered by midwives when providing care to preterm infants at resource limited health facilities in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Methods: Qualitative research approach, using exploratory and descriptive design was used. Non-probability purposive sampling was used to select twenty three midwives who had an experience of two or more years in maternity. Data was collected using unstructured individual interviews, which were voice recorded and transcribed and data analysed qualitatively through the open-coding method. Findings: Revealed one theme, preterm condition and expected care; with sub-themes namely; perceived causes of preterm complications and deaths, preterm babies experience several difficulties which need specialised care, the need for constant individualised care and monitoring of preterm infants by midwives, functional relevant equipment needed for care of preterm infants, a need for constant training for midwives regarding care of preterm infants, and importance for a proper structure to house preterm infants which will lead to quality care provision. Conclusion: Preterm babies need simple essential care such as warmth, feeding support, safe oxygen use and prevention of infection. Lack of adequate resources and limited skills from midwives could contribute to morbidity and mortality. Health facility managers need to create opportunities for basic and advanced preterm care to equip the skills of midwives by sending them to special trainings such as Limpopo Initiative Neonatal Care (LINC), Helping Baby Breath (HHB) and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Operational managers should be involved in the identification, procurement and supply of required equipment. Continuous health education should be provided on the mothers about kangaroo mother care (KMC) and measures to prevent infections in the neonatal unit.

Background: Midwives play a pivotal role in providing primary prevention of preterm birth. Midwives screen and diagnose preexisting medical conditions, manage all conditions as guided by their scope of practice and refer all cases to other relevant team members. Purpose:The study aimed to determine and describe factors contributing to the escalating preterm birth rate in Limpopo, South Africa. Methods: Descriptive survey was used to determine factors related to increased preterm births. The non-probability purposive sampling selected 55 midwives, and data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Data were analyzed through SPSS version 23. Results: Health facilities in Limpopo province had constrained resources as evidenced by a shortage of midwives, a lack of medical supply, poorly maintained, and old infrastructure. The skills of midwives and their working environment were affected by this constrained resource. The results from midwives that were perceived to affect them were 66% of participants reported lack of equipment, 29.1% participants agreed that pregnant women were presenting after 12 weeks to initiate antenatal care, while 45.3% pointed out they used steroids to prevent preterm labor. Record-keeping was viewed as an essential aspect to manage PTB when providing care. Despite the constrained resources, midwives were providing care to prevent PTB. This was evidenced by 78.2% agreeing that keep records from the first booking until the last antenatal visit, while 96.2% monitored the fetal heart rate, 98.1% screened for infections, and 90.9% referred all women at risk to the doctor. Thus, most of the midwives were competent with a confidence interval of (95%) and a prevalence of 9% and 9.5% that, is 9/10, which could prevent PTB. Conclusion: Lack of resources, including staffing and specialized care, contributed to escalating PTB at health facilities in Limpopo province.

Background: Effective communication between health care professionals, admitted patients, and their families is crucial to improving the health care outcomes and patient satisfaction. Hence, barriers to effective communication cause a lot of confusion, frustration, and misunderstanding. The study aimed to identify the perceived barriers to effective communication between patients, their families, and health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in public hospitals in Limpopo Province. The study was conducted in rural areas of Vhembe District, Limpopo Province. Methodology: A qualitative exploratory descriptive method was adopted to explore and describe the barriers of effective communication among patients, relatives, and health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in public hospitals in the Vhembe District. Eleven (11) participants were purposively selected. Unstructured in-depth individual interviews were used to collect data and analyzed using thematic analysis following Tesch’s eight steps. Results: The study findings revealed that there was ineffective communication by health care professionals. This was discussed under three themes that emerged: poor communication of diagnosis and prognosis and treatment outcomes; lack of accurate knowledge regarding the virus morphology, variant, and treatment protocols; and the inconsistencies in the dissemination of COVID-19 protocols. Conclusions: Full communication benefits both patients, relatives, and health care professionals as knowledge and understanding are enhanced through communication. Therefore, health care professionals should provide the patients and their relatives with full information about the disease and the visitation protocols to be followed. The study contribution was to explore barriers to effective communication to the patients and relatives by the health care professionals.

Background/Aims Most African states are faced with challenges in the healthcare sector, such as the lack of skilled healthcare professionals, materials and supplies and inadequate infrastructure. These challenges lead to an increased rate of preterm births. The aim of this study was to explore and describe barriers to the prevention of preterm births in the obstetric units of Limpopo Province. Methods An explorative, descriptive design was used to obtain primary data, which were used to develop guidelines to assist resource-limited obstetric units. Purposive sampling was used to select 10 managers and 15 midwives, making a total of 25 participants. In-depth individual interviews were used to collect data that were analysed using Tesch's open coding approach. Results The barriers to the prevention of preterm births in Limpopo Province, South Africa were a shortage of healthcare professionals, a lack of emotional and psychological support and poor communication. Conclusions The successful prevention of preterm births in Limpopo Province is not possible because of structural and psychosocial barriers alluded to by midwives and managers at obstetric units. It is recommended that the Maternal, Women and Child Health Directorate in Limpopo implement the standards of care as stipulated in the national maternity guidelines of South Africa, to address the quality and quantity of human resources and equipment.