USE OF DELIVERY INTERVENTIONS IN BASIC MATERNITY UNITS IN THE CITY OF KINDU IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF INTRAPARTUM CARE FOR A POSITIVE BIRTH EXPERIENCE

Childbirth interventions are still common in the basic maternity units of the city of Kindu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This increasing medicalization of the delivery process tends to diminish the woman's own ability to give birth and to produce negative effects on her health and her delivery experience. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the rate of childbirth interventions in basic maternity hospitals in the city of Kindu and the factors that influence them. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional survey of 3004 women registered in all the basic maternity hospitals in the city of Kindu during the year 2019. Information related to age, level of education, occupation or profession, parity, interventions performed at delivery as well as factors related to health care providers were collected from the documentary analysis of the records of the deliveries. The data collected were encoded on Excel sheets and exported to STATA 13 software. Results: The overall rate of delivery interventions in the basic maternity units of the city of Kindu in 2019 was 70.57%. Factors determining delivery interventions were: provider education (p = 0.000), provider education (p = 0.000), and emergency obstetric and neonatal care training (p = 0.000). Conclusion: Delivery interventions are a serious reproductive and perinatal health problem in the basic maternity units of the city of Kindu. This study suggests the need to implement strategies that can reduce the extent of these unhelpful and even dangerous interventions during labor and delivery, including the establishment of a protocol for the reduction of delivery interventions for midwives, the popularization of the World Health Organization's recommendations on intrapartum care for a positive delivery experience, and the sensitization of all health care providers on the observance of evidence-based medicine.