Listen to the Midwives in Limpopo Province South Africa: An Exploratory Study on Maternal Care

Table 1: Themes and sub-themes reflecting the challenges experienced by midwives in limpopo province during provision of maternal care and suggestions made by midwives themselves.

Main themes	Sub-themes
1. Midwives’ challenges experienced during the provision of care in maternity units	1.1 Shortage of material and human resources impedes the provision of quality midwifery care 1.2 Poor versus lack of autonomy in decision making by managers 1.3 Existing negative attitudes leading to poor provision of maternity care 1.4 Experienced overcrowding of women in maternity units leading to the provision of substandard care 1.5 Lack of knowledge by midwives observed 1.6 Lack of management support to midwives problematic
2. Suggestions made by midwives geared towards improving maternal care	2.1 Benchmarking should be done with countries having the same challenges 2.2 A need for more in-service education and on-the-job training outlined 2.3 An outline that debriefing for midwives is necessary for them to execute their duties maximally

Main themes

Sub-themes

1. Midwives’ challenges experienced during the provision of care in maternity units

     1.1 Shortage of material and human resources impedes the provision of quality midwifery care
     1.2 Poor versus lack of autonomy in decision making by managers
     1.3 Existing negative attitudes leading to poor provision of maternity care
     1.4 Experienced overcrowding of women in maternity units leading to the provision of substandard care
     1.5 Lack of knowledge by midwives observed
     1.6 Lack of management support to midwives problematic

2. Suggestions made by midwives geared towards improving maternal care

     2.1 Benchmarking should be done with countries having the same challenges
     2.2 A need for more in-service education and on-the-job training outlined
     2.3 An outline that debriefing for midwives is necessary for them to execute their duties maximally