55| International Journal of Pharmaceutical Research | July- Sept 2018 | Vol 10 | Issue 3 Research Article Effective strategies in promoting evidence-based maternity practice from theperspective of midwives in Iran: An opportunity for change FATEMEH JANANI, SHAHNAZ KOHAN*, FARIBA TALEGHANI, MASOUMEH GHAFARZADEH 1 Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan,Iran.E- 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, 3 Associated professor, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. 4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Lorestan, Iran. E-mail: Kohan@nm.mui.ac.ir., janani37@yahoo.com (m) :0098-031-37927546 Received: 13.05.18, Revised: 13.06.18, Accepted: 13.07.18 ABSTRACT The use of evidence-based practice in maternity care is one of the basic strategies recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in order to achieve the health of the mother and the infant. Investigations have indicated that birth services are based on the guidelines of the WHO in a few birth centers while in many countries midwifery services are still provided as interventional care and inappropriate ineffective performances. Therefore, it is necessary to apply effective strategies in order to change the method of healthcare and the administration of appropriate evidence-based maternity care.The present qualitative study was conducted in order to determine effective strategies in enhancing evidence-based maternity practice from the perspective of the midwives in Iran.The present study is a qualitative-descriptive investigation conducted in 2013. The statistical population included the midwives and gynecologists working in one of the specialized hospitals that provide third level services in Iran. Objective-based sampling was carried out till data saturation was reached. Data collection was carried out during 5 focuse group and 10 deep semi-structured interviews with 38 healthcare providers. The collected data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. After data analysis, 6 subcategories and 2 main categories were identified. The main categories included organizational and social strategies.The results of this demographic study can be utilized by the policymakers and the authorities of health system that are responsible for supervision and evaluation of the performance of evidence-base midwifery programs in labor centers. The authorities and planners of health system can utilize the results of the present study and the experiences of the participants and employ the suggested strategies in order to enhance the evidence-based midwifery care programs. Employing the strategies at organizational level along with social strategies establishes the grounds for the health of mothers and infants. Keywords: evidence-based maternity practice; strategy; qualitative study; Iran INTRODUCTION The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that natural childbirth care aim to obtain the mother and her child's health by reducing unnecessary interventions. Evidence-based clinical performance is an effective approach to enhance the quality of childbirth services and reduce mortality of mothers and their children (1). Evidence-based midwifery is a branch of evidence-based medicine and is based on the results of the best studies along with knowledge, expertise, clinical experiments, and consideration of the patients’ values (2).The application of evidence- based clinical performance helps with the selection of the best mother-infant care in clinical decision making and brings about positive maternity results by following secure and effective care (3).Although utilizing midwifery evidence-based clinical performance is highly significant in enhancing the quality of childbirth care measures in many parts of the world, maternity care is not carried out based on evidence-based principles(4). Studies that have been conducted in labor centers in most developing countries indicate that a lot of risky functions that are against evidence-based performance are utilized as common care (5)in a way that an increase in the rate of unnecessary midwifery interventions in some countries has become a major concern for health service providers (6).Routine utilization of operations like venous opening, accelerating the processes of labor, mobility restrictions, a ban on oral feeding, episiotomy and many other inappropriate and unnecessary interventions have been reported in labor centers by various studies (4). Conducting such ISSN 0975-2366 https://doi.org/10.31838/ijpr/2018.10.03.050