Knowledge, preference and desire of women on labor companionship

The WHO defines quality of care as5 the provision of technically competent care, which includes
evidence-based practices for routine care and the management of complications, as well as actionable
health management information systems and functional referral systems; and the enhancement of
women’s experience of care, which includes informative and comprehensible communication, care
delivered with respect and for women’s dignity, choices and autonomy in decision-making, and
availability of social, emotional and practical support. The quality of standards framework identifies 3
domains under the experience of care: effective communication, respect and preservation of dignity,
and emotional support.

Birth companions provided ad-vice, physical, emotional and spiritual support to the women
during their labour and delivery

Emotional support includes ensuring that every woman: is given the option to have a companion of
choice during labour and birth; is allowed to be ambulatory during the first stages of labour; is permitted
to take fluids and food during the early stages of labour; and is encouraged to give birth in the position
of the woman’s choice

Various studies, including two Cochrane reviews of continuous support and birth companionship, have
found that women who receive continuous support during labour were more likely to have shorter
labour and spontaneous vaginal birth, decreased usage of intrapartum anaelgesia, caesarian section and
episiotomies, and their babies were less likely to have low five-minute Apgar scores (less than 7(1).

Birth companions are non medical people who provide information, physical and emotional support to
women during labour and delivery

Results however, show that some women were not properly assisted by their companions
because both the mothers and companions lacked knowledge on birth companionship.

Improving the level of under-standing about the importance of labor companion for women is the first
line for creating concrete support, and empathy for laboring mothers(2).

As the presence of birth companions during childbirth is important to keep a laboring mother safe as she
is not left alone during this intensely stressful and fright-ening time in her life. This can be achieved
when a women is knowledgeable on labor companionship. There is a research that needs covered timely
“whether women are knowledgeable on labor Companionship or not and what is their preference and
future desire for labor companionship?.

Companionship during labour and delivery was found to be beneficial mainly for psycho-logical and
physical support and for providing assistance to health care workers
1. Lunda P, Minnie CS, Benadé P. Women’s experiences of continuous support during childbirth: a
meta-synthesis. BMC pregnancy and childbirth. 2018;18(1):1-11.
2. Kungwimba E, Maluwa A, Chirwa E. Experiences of women with the support they received from
their birth companions during labour and delivery in Malawi. 2013.