CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study World Health Organization (2007) estimated that over half a million women in developing countries die each year from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, leaving at least one million children motherless and so one feasible way of reducing this mortality rate is to improve the quality of maternal services.In Nigeria with a population of 140 million people with women of child bearing age constituting about 31 million, only about 40% of the deliveries are attended to by trained midwives (Midwives Serves Scheme, 2009). Every pregnant woman looks forward to the day she will deliver. Women throughout the ages have depended upon a skilled person usually woman to be with them during labour.In the practice of safe delivery therefore, the midwife is expected to be courteous, patient and attend to client’s/patient’s need immediately when taking delivery. McCrea, Wright and Murphy-Black (2008) examined the influence of midwives' approaches on the care given to women for pain relief during labour and their findings revealed that the midwives approach had a positive influence on the women's experience of labour pain. Myles (2009), defined labour as the expulsion of the foetus, placenta and membranes through the birth canal. Labour is a very stressful life experience of women and so the attitude of midwives during labour will either affect them positively or negatively. The emotions of the woman in labour greatly influence her reaction to discomfort and pains and are the contributing factor in determining the amount of physical and mental exhaustion she will experience, hence the whole process of childbearing should be handled with sensitivity and compassion. The midwife needs to appreciate what the woman is thinking and suffering from so as to give adequate care to her therefore communication between the client in labour and the midwife is of utmost importance because explanation of what is happening during labour will go a long way in relieving client's stress during labour. Statistics worldwide show that about 130 million women gives birth in the hospital attended to by trained midwives each year (Valarie, 2007), also (Lucia, 2010) states that midwives negative attitude to women in labour influence their decision about where to give birth. Women are most likely to labour best where they feel, safe and private, with midwives who they feel safe with and not a midwife whose attitude will affect them negatively. A midwife according to (ICM) international definition is a person who having been admitted to a midwifery education programme duly recognized in the country where it is located and have successfully completed the prescribed course of study in midwifery and has acquired the requisite qualification to be registered and legally licensed to practice.Nigerian is spending the stipulated number of years in training recommended by the NMCN’. The midwife must be able to give the necessary supervision, care and advice to women during pregnancy, labour and the post-partum period, to competently conduct deliveries independently and to care for the newborn infant

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