Gaza Midwives’ Experiences in Providing Maternity Care During Covid-19 Publisher



Baloushah SR^{1, 2} ; Abuhamad N³ ; Mohammadi N⁴ ; Alkasseh ASM¹ ; Salah MS^{5, 6} Show Affiliations
Source: European Journal of Midwifery Published:2022

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The Gaza Strip is densely populated. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on global healthcare systems, and midwifery practices have transformed in maternity care settings. Our research aimed at understanding the Palestinian midwives’ experiences in providing maternity care in Gaza during the COVID-19 pandemic at Gaza European Hospital which was the only hospital providing care for people diagnosed with COVID-19. METHODS To understand the phenomenon of interest, descriptive phenomenology was used. A purposive sample of eight midwives from the European Gaza Hospital was chosen. Between December 2020 and January 2021, semi-structured interviews were used in the data collection procedure. The collected data were analyzed using the Colaizzi approach. RESULTS The investigation resulted in three main themes: emotionally overwhelmed, work environment challenges, and interpersonal relationship development. CONCLUSIONS Midwives shared both positive and negative experiences from their time working in the European Gaza Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were confronted with negative emotions such as fear, stress, and anxiety, as well as environmental challenges. Despite this, they created a new interpersonal bond that was positively reflected. To sustain their psychological well-being, COVID-19 care workers require psychological support at work. A strong need exists for equipping the Maternity Department with the essential equipment and supplies to reduce the working environment load, as well as giving the necessary training to staff to be qualified enough to provide such crucial care. © 2022. Baloushah S. et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)