A STUDY OF THE PHYSICAL LOADS OF MIDWIVES IN THEIR WORK PROCESS WITH PATIENTS

ABSTRACT Midwives belong to one of the largest groups of healthcare professionals working at multiple hospitals in Bulgaria. They are an essential part of the treatment and diagnostic process of recovery and healing among women with gynecological problems, pregnant women, women in and after labor, and newborns (Hadzhideleva, 2014). In their daily work, midwives face various situations requiring quick and precise responses and adequate professional behavior. This suggests the occurrence of numerous psychologically stressful situations as well as physical strain in the process of work. This survey aims to assess the volume of the physical strain of midwives while working with patients by measuring their heart rates, the number of steps, and the distance covered. The study was conducted by applying combined measurements, including indicators such as age, height, weight, heart rate, number of steps, and distance covered within a single workday of 15 midwives from three medical institutions who participated in the survey. In order to increase the precision of data measurements, HUAWEI - Watch Fit, Body Composition Fat Scale 3, and Polar products were used. The data analysis indicates that the average distance covered by a health worker in a single workday is 6.70 km and the maximum heart rate at the end of the workday reaches up to 159 bpm with an average of 106 bpm, which indicates that midwives are subjected to significant workloads that lead to excessive fatigue and stress. According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, stress is the second most significant factor that causes health problems among health workers, and almost one in every four has been affected by this factor (OSHA, 2022) The conclusions that can be drawn are that the specifics of the midwives’ work entail multiple tasks and obligations and high intensity of physical load, which leads to excessive physical and emotional fatigue. In order to keep up the quality of work of health workers, it is necessary to take measures that aim to optimize the work process and improve the working conditions at medical institutions by observing recess times.