Table 3.

Healthcare provider quotes regarding solutions

THEME 3: Recommendations for providing pain relief
Sub-theme	Quote
Education for healthcare providers	Q 33	“I think we need to get education and to be educated on how and what specific pain relief should be given during labour pain, because sometimes you just start, you don’t know what to give. If we get that education I think it will be very helpful to us.” (Specialist registrar in Anaesthetics, KII)
	Q 34	“I suggest our health facility should liaise with the Government to promote more healthcare providers to go to anaesthetic school, because what we’re having here now it is a problem of shortage of this kind of profession.” (Nurse-midwife, FGD)
Increased staff numbers	Q 35	“We really need the number of staff to be the same as the number of women who are labouring.” (Specialist registrar in O&G, KII)
Cultural appropriate protocols	Q 36	“It’s better if everyone in the Department comes with something, then we discuss, we share, we know why we are doing this, in our setting, rather than copy from somewhere else.” (Specialist registrar in O&G, KII)
Research	Q 37	“I think we should do a study on women […] you can ask them what they really want during labour, if they really want analgesia or don’t. That will give us the way to set the service.” (Specialist registrar in Anaesthetics, KII)
Education for women	Q 38	“To improve our health education at the clinic, to tell the mothers, they should know that during labour they will feel pain; […] because having that in your mind you can tolerate the pain.” (Nurse, KII)