Perinatal care in the earthquake disaster of the century: Nurses' and midwives' experiences.

Aim: To determine the experiences of nurses and midwives providing perinatal care in an earthquake area.

Background: On February 6, 2023, two earthquakes measuring 7.8 and 7.6 magnitudes struck Turkey, affecting a large area. It is crucial for perinatal care to be rapidly organized, provided under the most suitable conditions, and delivered by qualified health professionals. Understanding the post-disaster experiences of nurses and midwives is crucial to addressing this issue.

Method: This is a qualitative study using phenomenological methodology with 8 nurses and 12 midwives in the earthquake-affected area. Personal information and semistructured interview forms were used for data collection. Content analysis was used for data analysis.

Results: Participants had a mean age of 33.75 years. The experiences of nurses and midwives were grouped into five themes: emotions experienced, challenges encountered, problems in perinatal services, coping mechanisms, and recommendations. The emotions experienced theme encompasses both positive and negative emotions. The challenges encountered theme includes challenging environmental conditions, organizational issues, problems with medical supplies and drugs, and being a victim of the earthquake. The problems in perinatal services theme includes pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum services. The coping mechanism's theme encompasses problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies. The recommendations theme includes education and awareness, preparedness for disasters, and sustainable services.

Implications for nursing/midwifery and health policy: Nurses and midwives working in the earthquake-affected area experienced numerous physical and psychological challenges and encountered difficulties in delivering health services. A disaster education course including simulated disaster drills and practice can be integrated into the education system. Strengthening healthcare facilities against disasters and raising awareness among the community are crucial.