Zileni Barbara Debra, Glover Pauline, Jones Meril, Teoh Kung-Keat, Zileni Chisomo WaaZileni, Muller Amanda
Kamuzu College of Nursing, Maternal and Child Health Department, Chipatala Avenue, off Mzimba Street, Opposite Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi.
School of Nursing & Midwifery, Faculty of Health Science, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park 5042, South Australia, Australia.
Women Birth. 2017 Feb;30(1):e1-e8. doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2016.06.003. Epub 2016 Jun 19.
Despite research evidence supporting use of upright birthing positions, most women give birth in supine position. Little is known about women's knowledge and use of labour and birthing positions. Specifically, there is a lack of evidence on Malawi women's knowledge and use of birthing positions, and this limits the possibility of improvement in childbirth practices.
To assess women's knowledge and use of different positions during labour and birthing.
The study used a cross-sectional descriptive survey in a Malawi maternity unit where 373 low-risk postnatal women participated in face-to-face exit interviews, using a structured questionnaire. A descriptive analysis of the categorical variables was conducted to examine frequencies and percentages.
The majority of women knew about walking (66.4%) and lateral (60.6%) as labour positions, whereas 99.2% knew about the supine as a birthing position. Half of the women (50%) walked during labour and the majority (91.4%) gave birth whilst in supine position. Midwives were the main source of information on positions used during childbirth.
Education about different birthing positions is needed for women who deliver at the maternity unit so that they can make informed decisions on their own options for childbirth. However, midwives must have the competence to encourage and assist women give birth in different positions, so professional development of midwives in childbirth positions is a priority.
Childbirth education should include information on the various labour and birthing positions. Midwives should be equipped with appropriate skills to help women use different positions during childbirth.
尽管有研究证据支持采用直立分娩姿势，但大多数女性仍采用仰卧位分娩。对于女性在分娩过程中对分娩姿势的了解和使用情况知之甚少。具体而言，缺乏关于马拉维女性对分娩姿势的了解和使用情况的证据，这限制了改善分娩方式的可能性。
评估女性在分娩过程中对不同姿势的了解和使用情况。
该研究在马拉维的一个产科病房进行了横断面描述性调查，373名低风险产后女性参与了面对面的出院访谈，使用了结构化问卷。对分类变量进行描述性分析，以检查频率和百分比。
大多数女性知道行走（66.4%）和侧躺（60.6%）是分娩姿势，而99.2%的女性知道仰卧是分娩姿势。一半的女性（50%）在分娩时行走，大多数（91.4%）在仰卧位分娩。助产士是分娩时使用姿势信息的主要来源。
在产科病房分娩的女性需要接受关于不同分娩姿势的教育，以便她们能够就自己的分娩选择做出明智的决定。然而，助产士必须有能力鼓励和协助女性以不同姿势分娩，因此助产士在分娩姿势方面的专业发展是当务之急。
分娩教育应包括关于各种分娩姿势的信息。助产士应具备适当的技能，以帮助女性在分娩时使用不同姿势。
