Morality versus duty – A qualitative study exploring midwives’ perspectives on post-abortion care in Uganda

We aimed to explore midwives’ perspectives on post-abortion care (PAC) in Uganda. Specifically, we sought to improve understanding of the quality of care. This was a qualitative study using individual in-depth interviews and an inductive thematic analysis. Interviews were conducted with 22 midwives (the ‘informants’) providing PAC in a public hospital in Kampala, Uganda. The narratives were based on experiences in current and previous workplaces, in rural and urban settings. The findings comprise one main theme – morality versus duty to provide quality post-abortion care – and three sub-themes. Our findings confirm that the midwives were committed to saving women's lives but had conflicting personal morality in relation to abortion and sense of professional duty, which seemed to influence their quality of care. Midwives were proud to provide PAC, which was described as a natural part of midwifery. However, structural challenges, such as lack of supplies and equipment and high patient loads, hampered provision of good quality care and left informants feeling frustrated. Although abortion was often implied to be immoral, the experience of PAC provision appeared to shape views on legality, leading to an ambiguous, yet more liberal, stance. Abortion stigma was reported to exist within communities and the health workforce, extending to both providers and care-seeking women. Informants had witnessed mistreatment of women seeking care due to abortion complications, through deliberate care delays and denial of pain medication. Midwives in PAC were dedicated to saving women's lives; however, conflicting morality and duty and poor working conditions seemed to impede good-quality care. Enabling midwives to provide good quality care includes increasing the patient–midwife ratio and ensuring essential resources are available. Additionally, efforts that de-stigmatise abortion and promote accountability are needed. Implementation of policies on respectful post-abortion care could aid in ensuring all women are treated with respect.