Midwives’ compliance with the standard precautions of infection control in the maternity setting

Abstract

According to Trends in maternal mortality (World Health Organization (WHO) 2019), infection remains the second highest cause of maternal mortality, although there has been a drop of 38 per cent worldwide, with 94 per cent of maternal deaths recorded in low- and middle- income countries. As midwives care for pregnant women, for women who have just given birth, and for their newborn — all of whom are more susceptible to acquiring infections — it is recommended that midwives take the necessary precautions when providing care, regardless of the mother’s infectious status (Johnson & Taylor 2016). As is currently being experienced with the COVID-19 pandemic, adhering to the ‘standard precautions’ is the most effective method of reducing infection transmission. Since their establishment in 1996, standard precautions, and compliance with these precautions, have been studied, with a large proportion of studies being conducted in under-developed countries. However, there is little evidence about midwives and their compliance with standard precautions. From the studies that have been undertaken into the reasons for midwives’ lack of compliance with standard precautions, in addition to high workload, lack of regular training (Vishnukumar et al 2018), time constraints (Ogoina et al 2015), and lack of equipment (Simbar et al 2011), the midwives’ perceived low-risk attitude is also a large factor (Fullerton & Gibbons 2011, Bouchoucha & Moore 2018).