Perceptions and attitudes of women in the perinatal period towards male midwives in a rural district of Ghana: a descriptive, exploratory qualitative study.

Objective: The study sought to explore the perceptions and attitudes of women in the perinatal period towards the reproductive health services of male midwives.

Design: The study adopted an in-depth exploratory descriptive design for data collection and themes extracted using thematic analysis.

Setting: Antenatal and postpartum units of two primary healthcare facilities in the Kwabre-East District of Ghana.

Participants: 20 women in the perinatal period who were receiving antenatal care and delivery services from the facilities included in the study were recruited through purposive sampling.

Findings: Divergent views emerged among our participants regarding the acceptability and utilisation of perinatal services provided by male midwives. Some participants perceived male midwives as patient, supportive, caring, compassionate and skilful at their work while the negative attitude related to some participants perceiving their interactions with male midwives as an opportunity for sexual violation. Positive attitudes emanated from male midwives' empathetic behaviour, reception, privacy and confidentiality of information. Conversely, negative attitudes arose from a lack of awareness of the changing female gender domination in midwifery, fear and misconceptions. Finally, participants faced various challenges, rooted in culture, which impacted their acceptance of male midwifery services.

Conclusions: Factors influencing participants' negative perceptions and attitudes towards male midwives were born out of culturally motivated and gender-sensitive stereotyping rather than male professional midwifery competencies. The study outcome provides the basis and the need for a community-based intervention to effect changes in the perception and attitude of women in the perinatal period towards male midwifery practice in the affected communities. Increasing awareness of the existence of male midwives in the communities would contribute to increasing acceptance and utilisation of their services among women in the perinatal period in Ghana.