{"title":"\"We are in this together\" - Polish midwives' reflections on perinatal care for Ukrainian women after the outbreak of war.","authors":"Magdalena Chrzan-Dętkoś, Natalia E Murawska","doi":"10.5114/hpr/161996","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>February 24, 2022, the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, was also the beginning of an exceptional situation and a challenge for the Polish health care system, the health care workers and Polish citizens. This study aims to conduct a qualitative analysis of midwives' experiences of maternity care for Ukrainian women after the outbreak of war.</p><p><strong>Participants and procedure: </strong>Eight midwives with experience working with both Ukrainian patients and Ukrainian war refugees (who came to Poland after February 24, 2022) participated in a semi-structured interview. The interview data were transcribed and thematically analysed to identify the observations, challenges and medical personnel needs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The most frequently observed reactions in Ukrainian patients included crying, increased anxiety and irritability, fear, withdrawal, and constant information seeking about the current situation. Breastfeeding problems understood as a consequence of chronic stress were also observed and assisted by the midwives. All respondents pointed out the language barrier and their involvement, showing empathy and attentiveness to the patients' situation. No hospital introduced additional support for midwives. A high level of emotional burden on midwives was observed.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The midwives were eager to help Ukrainian patients - they emphasized the more frequent need to make themselves available for them. However, the emotional involvement of the midwives is accompanied by the risk of traumatization and burnout, which are associated with exposure to the difficult experiences of patients. Implementation of training in trauma-informed care and supervision could support midwives in their work and prevent the consequences of long-term stress. Systemic solutions concerning translators' presence and hospital documents' translation are also essential.</p>","PeriodicalId":48227,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Democracy","volume":"31 1","pages":"177-187"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10670767/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Democracy","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.5114/hpr/161996","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"POLITICAL SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: February 24, 2022, the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, was also the beginning of an exceptional situation and a challenge for the Polish health care system, the health care workers and Polish citizens. This study aims to conduct a qualitative analysis of midwives' experiences of maternity care for Ukrainian women after the outbreak of war.
Participants and procedure: Eight midwives with experience working with both Ukrainian patients and Ukrainian war refugees (who came to Poland after February 24, 2022) participated in a semi-structured interview. The interview data were transcribed and thematically analysed to identify the observations, challenges and medical personnel needs.
Results: The most frequently observed reactions in Ukrainian patients included crying, increased anxiety and irritability, fear, withdrawal, and constant information seeking about the current situation. Breastfeeding problems understood as a consequence of chronic stress were also observed and assisted by the midwives. All respondents pointed out the language barrier and their involvement, showing empathy and attentiveness to the patients' situation. No hospital introduced additional support for midwives. A high level of emotional burden on midwives was observed.
Conclusions: The midwives were eager to help Ukrainian patients - they emphasized the more frequent need to make themselves available for them. However, the emotional involvement of the midwives is accompanied by the risk of traumatization and burnout, which are associated with exposure to the difficult experiences of patients. Implementation of training in trauma-informed care and supervision could support midwives in their work and prevent the consequences of long-term stress. Systemic solutions concerning translators' presence and hospital documents' translation are also essential.
期刊介绍:
Since its inception in 1990, the Journal of Democracy has become an influential international forum for scholarly analysis and competing democratic viewpoints. Its articles have been cited in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and widely reprinted in many languages. Focusing exclusively on democracy, the Journal monitors and analyzes democratic regimes and movements in scores of countries around the world. Each issue features a unique blend of scholarly analysis, reports from democratic activists, updates on news and elections, and reviews of important recent books.