The examination of knowledge experience and opinions of midwifes and nurses on water birth in some health institutions in tokat province

This study was conducted to examine the knowledge, experience and opinions of midwives and nurses working in some health institutions about water birth. The sample of the study consisted of 206 midwives and nurses working in some health institutions in Tokat. The data were collected by face to face interview method. The questionnaire form prepared by the researcher was used as data collection tools. Percentage distributions, mean, median, t test, Kruskal Wallis Variance Analysis and One Way Variance Analysis were used to evaluate the data. It was determined that none of the participants did not participate in water birth, did not witness and the average knowledge score was 33.12 ± 16.79. The expressions like "It reduces stress, promotes relaxation.", "It provides a more comfortable birth position which helps fetal descent during labor", "It reduces mother's back and low back pain", "It reduces pain or analgesia use" were the most commonly identified benefits of water birth. The most common potential risks were water aspiration in the newborn, maternal infection and drowning in the newborn. Problems that the participants often viewed as a major obstacle or a full obstacle to water birth were inadequate physical infrastructure, the lack of staff with knowledge and skills in water birth and the difficulty in predicting blood loss. In the study, the mean score of knowledge was found to be higher among participants who received information about water birth during vocational training and after graduation, who read an article about water birth and who watched a video about water birth. As a result, in this study, it was understood that the participants did not have in water birth and their knowledge level was low and the majority of the participants wanted to receive information about water birth. In addition, addressing the current literature gap, this study indicates the necessity of further studies on water birth.