Background: Reproductive health services are essential for everyone worldwide. In South Africa, the available literature does not address reproductive health as a full package for women refugees and their experiences. This study addressed women refugees in relation to reproductive healthcare services they receive from public healthcare facilities.Aim: The aim of the study was to document the day-to-day experiences of women refugees and uncover their challenges regarding utilisation of reproductive health services in public institutions of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.Setting: The study was conducted in eThekwini district, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, and did not consider participants who are located beyond the above-mentioned city’s borders.Methods: A qualitative, descriptive design was used. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data through face-to-face in-depth interviews with eight women refugees. Thematic content analysis guided the study.Results: Two major themes emerged: negative experiences or challenges, and positive experiences. The most dominant negative experiences included medical xenophobia and discrimination, language barrier, unprofessionalism, failure to obtain consent and lack of confidentiality, ill-treatment, financial challenges, internalised fear, religious and cultural hegemony, and the shortage of health personnel and overcrowding of public hospitals. The positive experiences included positive treatment and care and social support.Conclusion: The findings revealed that women refugees in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, face many challenges such as medical xenophobia and discrimination in their attempt to seek reproductive health services in public healthcare facilities, making them even more vulnerable. Assisting women refugees with their reproductive health needs will remediate the challenges they face.

BACKGROUND: Women refugees are mostly affected due to their specific needs for reproductive health services. In their attempt to utilize reproductive health care services, women refugees face medical xenophobia by the health care professionals. Upon their arrival in South Africa, refugee women do not undergo any screening, and this exposes them to health risks making them more prone to all different types of diseases, as many of them are survivors of rape and other acts of sexual violence. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to describe the voices of women refugees regarding reproductive health services in public health institutions in Durban KwaZulu-Natal METHODS: A qualitative, descriptive design was used. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews with eight women refugees living in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Thematic content analysis guided the study. RESULTS: Two main themes emerged from the data: negative experiences/challenges, and positive experiences. The negative experiences included medical xenophobia and discrimination, language barrier, unprofessionalism, failure to obtain consent and lack of confidentiality, ill-treatment, financial challenges, internalised fear, religious and cultural domination, the shortage of staff and overcrowding of public hospitals. The positive experiences included positive care and treatment. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that discrimination and medical xenophobia remain a challenge for women refugees seeking reproductive health services in public health institutions in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

Background Women refugees are mostly affected due to their specific needs for reproductive health services. In their attempt to utilize reproductive health care services, women refugees face medical xenophobia by the health care professionals. Upon their arrival in South Africa, refugee women do not undergo any screening, and this exposes them to health risks making them more prone to all different types of diseases, as many of them are survivors of rape and other acts of sexual violence. Objective The aim of the study was to describe the voices of women refugees regarding reproductive health services in public health institutions in Durban KwaZulu-Natal Methods A qualitative, descriptive design was used. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews with eight women refugees living in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Thematic content analysis guided the study. Results Two main themes emerged from the data: negative experiences/challenges, and positive experiences. The negative experiences included medical xenophobia and discrimination, language barrier, unprofessionalism, failure to obtain consent and lack of confidentiality, ill-treatment, financial challenges, internalised fear, religious and cultural domination, the shortage of health personnel and overcrowding of public hospitals. The positive experiences included positive treatment, care and social support. Conclusion The study concluded that discrimination and medical xenophobia remain a challenge for women refugees seeking reproductive health services in public health institutions in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

Introduction Low and middle-income countries account for the largest proportion of women’s deaths as a result of pregnancy or childbirth-related complications. The sub-Saharan region is the most affected with approximately 70% (202 000) of maternal deaths between 2000 and 2020. These deaths could have been prevented if expectant mothers were prepared for childbirth. Birth preparedness is perceived as a better strategy that helps attain a substantial reduction in maternal mortality. This is achieved by attending early antenatal classes, receiving skilled care during childbirth, and care and support right after birth. The latest survey on antenatal class attendance conducted in South Africa provides an estimated 30.8% of expectant mothers in public healthcare facilities. Methods Based on the action research method, this study employed a qualitative approach to collect data, as a result, one focus group discussion with five (N=5) participants and two others with six (N=6) participants each (n=6X2=12) and twenty individual interviews were conducted. The study sought to explore and describe the knowledge and attitudes of healthcare professionals regarding the birth preparedness of women in labour at selected Hospitals in Durban KwaZulu-Natal. Results It was found that expectant mothers were unprepared for both labour and postnatal care. The unprepared expectant mothers were uncooperative and made the task of midwives difficult to the extent of endangering the life of their expected newborn and their own. Factors such as finance, heterogeneity, staff shortage, language barrier, lack of family support, lack of interest, cultural beliefs, and confusion caused by various sources of information were responsible for birth unpreparedness. Conclusion Therefore, the synergy between expectant mothers and midwives appears to be an important factor in achieving better birth preparedness.

Background: The high maternal and neonatal deaths recorded in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Africa, present a serious challenge. Sub-Saharan countries still record the highest mortality ratio and even the highest in the developing world. It is reported that five major complications such as obstructed labor, unsafe abortion, high blood pressure during pregnancy, hemorrhage, and infection are responsible for this high mortality rate, which could be prevented through birth preparedness program, adequate health education, and information sharing, including the use of social media in attempt to educate every expectant woman regarding birth preparedness. Objective: This study aimed to assess birth preparedness among women in early labor at selected hospitals. Design: A qualitative descriptive approach. Methods: This was a descriptive qualitative research study, conducted among expectant women in early labor and three focus group discussions. Data were collected and analyzed from participants using face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Participants for this study were pregnant women in early labor with gestational ages between 36 and 41 weeks, as the study excluded the mothers who were in preterm labor. Results: Nine themes emerged from the data: understanding of birth preparedness, perceived benefits of birth preparedness, women’s responsibilities in birth preparedness, roles of healthcare workers in birth preparedness, timing of birth preparedness activities, women’s choices regarding delivery location, pregnancy complication readiness, sources of information on motherhood and birth preparedness, and barriers to birth preparedness. Several categories emerged under each theme, and the results revealed that understanding of birth preparedness was associated with mental, emotional, financial, and physical preparedness. Participants reported barriers associated with budget limitations, lack of information, healthcare workers’ attitudes, unplanned pregnancies, and cultural beliefs. Healthcare workers were abusive and displayed negative attitudes toward expectant women. Conclusion: Challenges affecting the status of birth preparedness among expectant mothers can be understood and therefore preventable. Interventions need to enforce already existing maternity health protocols and leverage innovation and technology to reduce the morbidity and mortality of pregnant women and neonates.

Introduction Low and middle-income countries account for the largest proportion of women’s deaths as a result of pregnancy or childbirth-related complications. The sub-Saharan region is the most affected with approximately 70% (202 000) of maternal deaths between 2000 and 2020. These deaths could have been prevented if expectant mothers were prepared for childbirth. Birth preparedness is perceived as a better strategy that helps attain a substantial reduction in maternal mortality. This is achieved by attending early antenatal classes, receiving skilled care during childbirth, and care and support right after birth. The latest survey on antenatal class attendance conducted in South Africa provides an estimated 30.8% of expectant mothers in public healthcare facilities. Methods This study employed a qualitative approach to collect data, as a result, one focus group discussion with five (N=5) participants and two others with six (N=6) participants each (n=6X2=12) and twenty individual interviews were conducted. The study sought to explore and describe the knowledge and attitudes of healthcare professionals regarding the birth preparedness of women in labour at selected hospitals in Durban KwaZulu-Natal. Results Expectant mothers were unprepared for both labour and postnatal care. The unprepared expectant mothers were uncooperative and made the task of midwives difficult to the extent of endangering the life of their expected newborn babies and their own. Factors such as finance, heterogeneity, staff shortage, language barrier, lack of family support, lack of interest, cultural beliefs, and confusion caused by various sources of information were responsible for birth unpreparedness. Conclusion The synergy between expectant mothers and midwives appears to be an important factor in achieving better birth preparedness.