Midwives experiences of working with post abortion family planning : a Minor Field Study in Zambia

Sammanfattning: The prevalence of post abortion contraception in Zambia is lower than in many other African countries, with unmet family planning needs. Midwives play an important professional role in family planning. In conjunction with an abortion the midwife is provided with an opportunity to inform, discuss, prescribe and initiate family planning with the woman concerned. It is shown that women receiving information and knowledge about post abortion contraception are more likely to use it.   The aim of the study was to describe midwives experiences of working with post abortion family planning in Zambia.   A qualitative interview study with semi-structured questions was used. To conduct the study and find participants with the right inclusion criteria a strategic sampling was used. Ten midwives working with post abortion family planning in Zambia were interviewed. Qualitative content analysis was performed to analyze the collected data from the interviews.   During the data-analysis two categories and eight subcategories were identified. The midwives had experiences of several challenges within post abortion family planning. These included lack of knowledge, supplies and health care staff as well as problem with stigma around family planning and lack of compliance. The midwives also described other factors influencing the work with post abortion family planning. These factors included changes in attitudes, the midwife's knowledge and the importance of information provided by the midwives.   The midwives experienced that there were several factors influencing their work with post abortion family planning. Several challenges within post abortion family planning were identified in this study. Areas of improvement involve education, more midwives working and a better availability to post abortion family planning equipment and services.