Navigating diverse understandings of childbirth complications

Abstract

As biomedicine is the primary health strategy used in hospital settings, understanding and managing childbirth complications are primarily biomedically oriented. However, many black South Africans consult traditional healers before, during, or after receiving biomedical therapy for health disorders that they believe are better addressed traditionally. Traditional healers are thus critical in the health-seeking of such community members. The study aimed to investigate how professional nurses who are also traditional healers understand and navigate childbirth complications in hospitals around Johannesburg. The theoretical lens/framework the study used was hermeneutical phenomenology to explore the lived experiences of traditional healers working as professional nurses. It also used the social identity theory to understand how professional nurses’ identities as traditional healers navigate their roles when dealing with childbirth complications. The study was qualitative and used a phenomenological design. Snowball sampling was used to target this hard-to-find group. Data was generated through semi-structured interviews with healthcare providers with dual identities as traditional healers working as professional nurses. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to analyse the generated data. The study shows that traditional healers who serve as professional nurses have a distinct viewpoint on delivery difficulties that differs from nurses who are not traditional healers or vice versa. The findings show that their cultural and medical expertise may transform how delivery is managed, reducing the use of caesarean sections and opting for a more holistic approach to managing childbirth complications. This approach, in turn, contributes to developing health programs that bring access to good-quality health services and holistic healing within the hospital space. Thus, it is recommended that the perspectives and approaches conceived by such a category of nurses be critically considered for developing policies that give room for collaborative and holistic approaches to maternal care and childbirth.