Praying until Death: Apostolicism, Delays and Maternal Mortality in Zimbabwe

Religion affects people's daily lives by solving social problems, although it creates others. Female sexual and reproductive health are among the issues most affected by religion. Apostolic sect members in Zimbabwe have been associated with higher maternal mortality. We explored apostolic belie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2016-08, Vol.11 (8), p.e0160170-e0160170
Main Authors: Munyaradzi Kenneth, Dodzo, Marvellous, Mhloyi, Stanzia, Moyo, Memory, Dodzo-Masawi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Analysis
Biology and Life Sciences
Christianity
Complications
Contraceptives
Delayed Diagnosis - psychology
Delayed Diagnosis - statistics & numerical data
Delivery of Health Care - statistics & numerical data
Developing countries
Emergency medical care
Feasibility studies
Female
Fertility
Hazards
Health care
Health services utilization
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Interviews as Topic
LDCs
Low income groups
Male
Marriage
Maternal Health - statistics & numerical data
Maternal Mortality
Medical technology
Medicine and Health Sciences
Middle Aged
Midwifery
Mortality
Obstetrics
People and Places
Population
Pregnancy
Religion
Reproduction
Reproductive health
Reproductive systems
Rural areas
Sexuality
Social aspects
Social conditions
Social problems
Social Sciences
Spirituality
Teenage marriage
Womens health
Zimbabwe
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Summary:Religion affects people's daily lives by solving social problems, although it creates others. Female sexual and reproductive health are among the issues most affected by religion. Apostolic sect members in Zimbabwe have been associated with higher maternal mortality. We explored apostolic beliefs and practices on maternal health using 15 key informant interviews in 5 purposively selected districts of Zimbabwe. Results show that apostolicism promotes high fertility, early marriage, non-use of contraceptives and low or non-use of hospital care. It causes delays in recognizing danger signs, deciding to seek care, reaching and receiving appropriate health care. The existence of a customized spiritual maternal health system demonstrates a huge desire for positive maternal health outcomes among apostolics. We conclude that apostolic beliefs and practices exacerbate delays between onset of maternal complications and receiving help, thus increasing maternal risk. We recommend complementary and adaptive approaches that address the maternal health needs of apostolics in a religiously sensitive manner.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0160170