Regional Geographic Dynamics of Male Midwifery Practice: An Exploratory Study of the Perspectives of the Male Midwife in Ghana's Volta and Northern Regions

Background and Aims: Midwifery is an essential healthcare component that has mainly been female-dominated. However, a few centuries ago, men were introduced into the profession as midwives, including Ghana in the year 2013. Even though men work as midwives in both urban and rural communities of Ghana and provide midwifery care, there is a lack of literature on the practice concerning the male midwives' perspective. Therefore, the study aimed to explore the geographic dynamics of male midwifery practice in Ghana's Volta and Northern regions. Methodology: This study employed a qualitative approach using purposive sampling to recruit 14 male midwives from the Volta and Northern regions in Ghana. Data was collected via a semi-structured interview guide for 30 to 45 min and thematically analysed, allowing for an in-depth exploration of the male midwives' experiences. Results: The first theme was rural-urban divide with societal acceptance and resources, and cost of living as sub-themes. The second theme was Practices with duties and preferred areas of practice as sub-themes. The study reports an equally high acceptance rate of the male midwives by clients in the primary and secondary health care settings located in both rural and urban communities. It again reports that one major challenge of midwives in practice is the unavailability of basic resources for quality maternal care. Furthermore, the cost of living is high compared to the salary and remuneration the male midwives receive. Conclusion: Male midwives perceive a high rate of acceptability as maternal healthcare providers, and this may be a motivating factor for them to put in more efforts to improve quality care. Authorities must address the pressing issues of unavailability of basic resources, poor salary and remuneration to help achieve universal health coverage and improve the livelihoods of the midwives, respectively.