Evaluation of Midwifery and Nursing Practices for Maternal and Neonatal Safety in the Delivery Room

Objective: Delivery rooms are places where problems rapidly develop and decisions are quickly taken. Therefore, patient safety practices are among the most important things. This study was conducted to discover patient safety practices of nurses and midwives who work in the delivery room. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted with 140 midwives and nurses working in eight hospitals in Ankara. Data were collected with a questionnaire, which was developed by reviewing the literature. Research data were analyzed by number and percentile distribution. Results: No controlled doors were found in 1/3 of the eight delivery rooms in hospitals, 21.1% of participants did not attach identity wristband while taking mothers to delivery rooms, 34.3% used room/bed numbers in detecting identity, and 63% did not register the given instructions during the emergency-sterile applications. Additionally, 8.6% left mothers and babies alone, 27.9% did not write the date of the birth on the identity wristband, 11.4% did not follow uterus involution. Conclusion: Our study results revealed that most targets for ensuring maternal and neonatal safety are achieved in delivery rooms. However, deficiencies were found in the application, such as identity control, applications registration, and drug administration. The majority of patient safety applications are routine practices of nurses and midwives. Training for midwives and nurses who work in delivery rooms for the safety of mother-newborn is recommended.