Abstract
Background
Deliveries of hearing and speech impaired women are associated with a significant rate of poor birth outcomes, including low 1-minute and 5-minute Apgar scores, when compared to women belonging to the hearing community. This indicates that the language barrier affects the outcome of one’s delivery (Mitra et al., 2020:418). However, little research has been conducted to explore and describe the experiences of midwives related to communication during the birthing process of hearing and speech impaired women.
The aim
This study aimed to explore and describe the experiences of midwives related to communication with hearing and speech impaired women during the birthing process at a selected tertiary hospital in Gauteng Province.
Method
The study was qualitative research, which was phenomenological; it was used to explore and describe the experiences of midwives related to communication with hearing and speech impaired women during the birthing process. The study was exploratory, descriptive, and contextual in nature. The non- probability sampling method was used to select midwives working in the delivery section of the maternity unit. Only midwives who had experienced communication with hearing and speech impaired women during the birthing process were chosen. Unstructured in-depth interviews were conducted, and thematic data analysis and in vivo coding were used by the researcher.
Findings
The research findings revealed six themes in the experiences of midwives related to communication with hearing and speech impaired women during the birthing process. These themes were experiences of difficult delivery, poor communication, safety concerns; fear of litigation, complications, and learning opportunity.
Significance of the study
The study findings provide insight into the experiences of midwives regarding communication with hearing and speech impaired women during the birthing process. The experiences gained from this study may be used to empower midwives by making recommendations to the hospital for in-service training and short courses for midwives on South African Sign Language. The findings can be communicated through seminars and workshops and published in journals to highlight the experiences that midwives had with regard to communication with hearing and speech impaired women during the birthing process.
Keywords: experiences, midwives, communication, hearing and speech impaired women.