Relationship of Knowledge and Attitude Towards Legal Abortion Laws with the Performance of Midwives in Qazvin, Iran

Background and Objectives: Abortion is one of the main causes of maternal mortality. The lack of knowledge of physicians and midwives about the abortion laws can lead to the deficiency of presenting accurate information to pregnant women, and consequently to increase unsafe abortions. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship of knowledge and attitude towards legal abortion laws with the performance of midwives in Qazvin, Iran. Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 122 midwives with private offices in Qazvin, Iran, from May to September 2012. The subjects were chosen according to the convenience sampling method. After obtaining informed consent for participation in the study, four questionnaires, including demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and performance questionnaires were distributed by the researcher among the referrals. Results: The obtained results showed that approximately half of the midwives had good knowledge about abortion laws (55.7%); however, their attitude towards abortion laws was mostly negative (86.9%). In addition, their performance of abortion was reported as average (60.7%). There was no significant relationship between the knowledge and midwifes’ performance; however, a significant statistical relationship was observed between their attitude and performance. Conclusion: Regarding the fact that providing abortion services is one of the healthcare strategies for preventing the complications of unsafe abortion, it is advised to increase the knowledge level of medical personnel by including the relevant courses in the university, holding retraining courses and congresses on the issue of abortion, and informing new guidelines.