Publication
Exploring Women’s Reasons for Choosing Home Birth with the Help of Their Untrained Family Members: A Qualitative Research
Exploring Women’s Reasons for Choosing Home Birth with the Help of Their Untrained Family Members: A Qualitative Research
Background: Home births with the help of untrained family members continue to be women’s
preference in Indonesia. However, the practice has received very little attention. The purpose of this
study was to explore women’s reasons for choosing home births with the help of their untrained family
members.
Methods: This study used an exploratory-descriptive qualitative research approach and was conducted
from April 2020 to March 2021 in Riau Province, Indonesia. A total of 22 respondents determined by
data saturation was recruited using purposive and snowball samplings. The respondents consisted of
12 women who had at least one planned home birth with the help of their untrained family members,
and 10 untrained relatives who had an experience in intentionally assisting their family member’s home
birth. Data were collected through semi-structured telephone interviews. Nvivo version 11 software
was used for data analysis using the Graneheim and Lundman’s content analysis.
Results: 13 categories and 4 themes emerged. The themes were living with fallacious beliefs in
unassisted home childbirths, feeling of socially alienated from the surrounding communities, dealing
with limited access to healthcare services, and escaping from childbirth-related stressors.
Conclusion: Home birth with the help of untrained family members takes place because of not only
limited access to healthcare services, but also women’s personal beliefs, values, and needs. Designing
culturally sensitive health education, ensuring culturally competent healthcare workers and services,
overcoming healthcare access barriers, and improving the community’s pregnancy and childbirth
literacies are fundamental in reducing unassisted home births and promoting facility childbirths.