Challenges and Strategies of Prenatal Care in Deaf Pregnant Women from the Perspective of Iranian Midwives: A Qualitative Content Analysis

Background & aim: Deaf pregnant women are one of the most vulnerable groups in any society. Midwives, as the members of the healthcare providers’ team, face various problems while providing services including prenatal care to deaf pregnant women. To gain midwives’ perspectives in this regard, this study conducted to explore the challenges and strategies of midwives in providing prenatal care to deaf and hard-of-hearing pregnant women.Methods: This study was conducted using a qualitative content analysis from September ۲۰۲۳ to December ۲۰۲۳ in Khuzestan Province (Southwestern Iran). Purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted with ۱۰ midwives with experience of providing prenatal care to deaf pregnant women. Data collection continued until data saturation. The analysis was done using the conventional content analysis method of Granheim and Lundman (۲۰۱۷). Results: Two main categories of “encountered challenges”, and “proposed strategies” emerged. The main category of encountered challenges included two subcategories of "midwives' feelings of weakness" and "midwives' psychological burden". The main category of proposed strategies also included two categories of "comprehensive support" and "specific instruction".Conclusion: As a key element in providing services to deaf pregnant women, midwives face a range of challenges.  The current results can draw the attention of health managers to the challenges of midwives and other healthcare providers. Also, the strategies suggested by midwives can help managers to plan improved care provision to deaf pregnant women.

کلیدواژه ها:

Midwifery ، Pregnant Women ، prenatal care ، Deaf ، Qualitative research