Religious beliefs and practices in pregnancy and labour: an inductive qualitative study among post-partum women in Ghana

Abstract

BackgroundReligiosity in health care delivery has attracted some attention in contemporary literature. The religious beliefs and practices of patients play an important role in the recovery of the patient. Pregnant women and women in labour exhibit their faith and use religious artefacts. This phenomenon is poorly understood in Ghana. The study sought to investigate the religious beliefs and practices of post-partum Ghanaian women.MethodsA descriptive phenomenological study was conducted inductively involving 13 women who were sampled purposively. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted in English, Ga, Twi and Ewe. The interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. Concurrent analysis was done employing the principles of content analysis. Ethical approval was obtained for the study and anonymity and confidentiality were ensured.ResultsThemes generated revealed religious beliefs and practices such as prayer, singing, thanksgiving at church, fellowship and emotional support. Pastors’ spiritual interventions in pregnancy included prayer and revelations, reversing negative dreams, laying of hands and anointing women. Also, traditional beliefs and practices were food and water restrictions and tribal rituals. Religious artefacts used in pregnancy and labour were anointing oil, blessed water, sticker, blessed white handkerchief, blessed sand, Bible and Rosary. Family influence and secrecy were associated with the use of artefacts.ConclusionsReligiosity should be a key component of training health care professionals so that they can understand the religious needs of their clients and provide holistic care. We concluded that pregnant women and women in labour should be supported to exercise their religious beliefs and practices.

Experiences and perceptions of Ghanaian midwives on labour pain and religious beliefs and practices influencing their care of women in labour

“…Therefore, to connect with God, women in labour prayed through diverse ways and requested prayer support from their pastors. These findings are similar to other studies [5, 9, 16, 27]. However, some midwives asked pastors who were noisy in their prayers to tone down and others did not allow pastors into the labour ward in an attempt to protect the privacy of other women.…”

“…The study adopted interpretive phenomenology to investigate the lived experiences of midwives regarding how their faith influences the management of labour pain [16, 25]. This approach of phenomenology allowed the researchers to gain in-depth understanding of the interconnections between the midwives’ faith, religious beliefs and practices and their influence on the care they provided to women in labour.…”

“…Women from different religious backgrounds use some religious artefacts such as anointing oil (olive oil that is blessed by the religious leader), rosaries, stickers, beads and bands. These are believed to grant further protection [6, 16]. The specific artefact used is usually determined by the religious affiliation of the woman.…”

“…The interconnections of a midwife’s faith and her midwifery practice can be linked to her gender role as a woman who might have gone through labour pain and applied one religious artefact or the other [16, 21]. Therefore, in this study the female midwife who had used religious artefact during her own pregnancy and childbirth may care for a woman using the same artefact.…”

Midwives' Perspectives of Respectful Maternity Care during Childbirth: A Qualitative Study

“…Behruzi et al (2014) highlighted the importance of respecting the women's cultures, values and beliefs from the midwives' views [36]. Also, Aziato et al, (2016) stated that, in all spheres of midwifery, spirituality should be considered as an integral part of the care provided to women and their families [37].…”