Table 4 Categories, themes and contexts from qualitative interviews
Physicians | Categories | Personal and professional workload balance; Physician experience and perceptions; External influence; Fear and Risk Aversion; Communication as a way of sharing information; Human resource challenges |
Themes | Work-life balance; Personal preferences; External influence; Risk Aversion; Communication skills; Health system | |
Contexts | From within; From without; System and skills | |
Women who underwent Emergency CS | Categories | Local pressure; Health workers attitude; Confidence in indications; Negative information exchange; Interpretation skills of the woman; Do what you can; Emotional drain |
Themes | Yielding to local pressure; Lack of respect; Speaking the same language on indications; Negative language; Technical language; Prayers take over; Decision under pressure/ Quick end | |
Contexts | Guilt; Powerlessness; Knowledge; Language; Fatalism | |
Women who underwent Elective CS | Categories | Faith and resigned to a destiny; USG and its universality for determining indications; Sources of information One-way (limited) communication; Consenting without understanding; An added benefit of combining sterilization; Complications don’t matter; Lack of privacy fuelling fear |
Themes | Faith; USG and its universality; Confidence in safety Physicians know best; Consent, a formality; Collateral benefits; Baby is the future; Privacy over pain | |
Contexts | Safety of C-sections; Physicians in control; Value for money; Sacrificial attitude; Fear of pain—not a major concern |