Aim: To explore the experiences of women with severe maternal morbidity and their perception of the quality of health care.
Background: The exploration of factors associated with severe maternal morbidity has emerged as an alternative strategy in reducing maternal mortality. This approach is useful for the evaluation and improvement of maternal health services.
Design: Included a comprehensive search, appraisal of reports of qualitative studies, the classification of studies and the synthesis of findings.
Data sources: A literature search was conducted through nine databases for articles published between January 1980 and August 2013.
Review methods: The quality of included studies was assessed with a modified Critical Appraisal Skills Program tool. The synthesis applied a meta-ethnographic approach. It involved (1) identifying and comparing the findings; (2) creating a parsimonious thematic structure and (3) searching for disconfirming data.
Results: Nine studies published between 2005 and 2012, involving 292 women with severe maternal morbidity, were included. Three key themes were identified: 'provision of care', 'severe maternal morbidity' and 'health care seeking behavior'. Barriers to the access and utilization of heath care services were identified.
Conclusion: The findings appear to suggest that mental and physical health outcomes of women who experienced severe maternal morbidity were poor. There is a need to identify the persistence and severity of these outcomes over a longer period of time. More realistic and less biased information may be obtained in community-based interviews. The impact of potential negative fetal outcomes would be a strong influencing factor for the women. These findings may help to increase awareness of the non-physical components of severe maternal morbidity and provide guidance for professionals regarding preventive measures.