Healthcare professionals’ experience of teenage pregnancy and motherhood in Haiti

Léonel Philibert; Judith Lapierre; Paulin Mulatris; Gbètogo Maxime Kiki; Alice Prophète; Gisèle Mandiangu Ntanda

doi:10.1515/ijamh-2023-0157

Article

Healthcare professionals’ experience of teenage pregnancy and motherhood in Haiti

Léonel Philibert , Judith Lapierre , Paulin Mulatris , Gbètogo Maxime Kiki , Alice Prophète and Gisèle Mandiangu Ntanda

Published/Copyright: April 8, 2024

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From the journal International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health Volume 36 Issue 3

Abstract

Objectives

The aim of this study was to explore healthcare professionals’ experience of pregnant and motherhood in adolescence in Haiti.

Methods

The methodology for collecting and analyzing qualitative data was based on John Dewey’s social survey. The study was conducted in nine health institutions in the North and North-East departments of Haiti from October 2020 to January 2021. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews with 15 healthcare professionals. All interviews were audio-recorded. The recordings were listened to carefully and transcribed in verbatim form. After checking and validation, the verbatims in Word format were exported to QDA Miner software version 6.0.5 for coding. The data were analyzed using Paillé and Mucchielli thematic analyses.

Results

Health professionals such as gynecologists, nurses, midwives, nursing assistants, matrons and health workers took part in the study. These study participants indicate that teenage pregnancy and motherhood are social and public health problems whose negative consequences affect teenage girls, children, healthcare professionals, the healthcare system, and Haitian society in general. The services offered to adolescent girls are medical, educational, psychological, economic, and social in nature. When caring for pregnant adolescents during the transition to motherhood, healthcare professionals face many challenges that are linked to the socio-economic status and physiological reality of adolescents, as well as the healthcare system.

Conclusions

Programs involving home care visits should also be set up to offer ongoing support to pregnant or parenting teenagers. The distribution of food aid or materials such as clothing, hygiene products and baby kits should also be considered.

Keywords: teenage pregnancy; maternity; experience; healthcare professional; Haiti

Corresponding author: Léonel Philibert, PhD, Assistant Professor, Université de l’Ontario français, 9 Lower Jarvis St, Toronto, ON M5E0C3, Canada; and Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Nursing, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada, Phone: 1 438 873 5532, E-mail: leonel.philibert@uontario.ca

Funding source: International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Funding source: Centre for Research on Social Innovations (CRISES)

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Yolette Philibert, Gandhi C. Philibert and Rose-Carmelle Compère for their involvement in the field activities related to this research.

Research ethics: This study was approved by the Laval University Ethics Committee (No: 2020-253/04-11- 2020), as well as by the Haitian National Bioethics Committee (No: Réf.1921-1).
Informed consent: Participants were informed that their participation was completely voluntary and that they could withdraw from the study at any time without prejudice. In addition, prior to the interviews, all adult participants signed a consent form.
Author contributions: All authors made significant contributions to the development and design or analysis and interpretation of data, to the development of the article, and/or to the critical revision of its intellectual content, and all authors endorsed the version submitted to the International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Research funding: This study received financial support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Centre for Research on Social Innovations (CRISES).
Data availability: Not applicable.

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Received: 2023-09-28

Accepted: 2024-03-17

Published Online: 2024-04-08

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2023-0157

Keywords for this article

teenage pregnancy; maternity; experience; healthcare professional; Haiti