Evaluation of labour and birth education by midwifery educators: A qualitative study from Turkey

Background: Midwifery students’ education regarding labor and birth is crucial because it directly affects the quality of care provided to women in labor. Aims: Exploring educators’ experiences of delivering labor and birth education to midwifery students and evaluating the circumstances that affect the quality of labor and birth education Methods: This was a qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 educators teaching midwifery in 16 midwifery departments at universities in Turkey. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted. All transcripts were evaluated by two researchers, and codes were created. The codes formed the subthemes in terms of similarities and differences; themes were created based on combining subthemes. Findings: Three themes were identified. The first— “impacts of global changes on labor and birth education”—shows how labor and birth is affected by changing policies, philosophies, individuals, and cultures. The second theme— “opportunities/obstacles in labor and birth education”—shows how sources of information, as well as individual and systemic factors, create opportunities or obstacles for the quality of labor and birth education. The final theme - “recommendations for quality labor and birth education”—presents participants’ suggestions for the effective integration of courses, use of sources of information, and updating of curriculum. Discussion: Changing policies, philosophies, individuals, and cultures affect labor and birth education. Individual and systemic factors and information sources create opportunities or barriers for the quality of labor and birth education. Conclusion: A positive childbirth experience is a basic human right for both women and newborns. This can be made possible by professionals who have received quality labor and birth education. Thus, investment in midwifery education is an important cost-effective approach to improving health outcomes