Globally, the obstetrician-led and the midwife care are the two skilled science-based maternity care models available for pregnant women. Midwife-led care is maternal and children healthcare approach in which the midwife takes the lead role in planning, organizing, and providing perinatal care to pregnant women. This study examined pregnant women’s perception and experience toward midwife-led perinated care in health facilities in Abua-Odual, Rivers State, Nigeria. This study adopted the interpretive phenomenology design. The study was conducted at Five (5) health facilities in Abua-Odual. A convenience sample of 30 percent women completed the study. In-depth interview were done using a non-structured interview guide. Collected data were analyzed using the Hsieh and Shannon s 5-step systematic content analysis technique. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the University of Port Harcourt Institutional Review Board. The six themes that emerged under perception were: affordability of midwifery services, personalized midwife-client relationship, empowerment of women to make decision, improved continuum of care, improved women-centered care, and improved satisfaction of care. The respondents reported positive experiences and showed a willingness to receive midwifery-led perinatal care. The study revealed that women were satisfied with the financial cost of midwifery services, appreciated the midwifes expertise in providing maternity care, acknowledge the personalized relationship with the midwife, and shared that they were empowered to make decision about their health and wellbeing. This study recommends more research in this subject matter to enhance the delivery of women-friendly maternity care.
Keywords: Experiences, Perception, midwife-led care, phenomenology, pregnancy
