Midwifing the notion of a 'good' birth: a philosophical analysis

Simple item page
aut.relation.endpage31
aut.relation.startpage25
aut.relation.volume37en_NZ
aut.researcherMcAra-Couper, Judith
dc.contributor.authorSmythe, Een_NZ
dc.contributor.authorHunter, Men_NZ
dc.contributor.authorGunn, Jen_NZ
dc.contributor.authorCrowther, Sen_NZ
dc.contributor.authorCouper, JMen_NZ
dc.contributor.authorWilson, Sen_NZ
dc.contributor.authorPayne, Den_NZ
dc.date.accessioned2016-06-17T00:53:58Z
dc.date.available2016-06-17T00:53:58Z
dc.date.copyright2016-06-01en_NZ
dc.date.issued2016-06-01en_NZ
dc.description.abstractObjective: to ponder afresh what makes a good birth experience in a listening manner. Design: a hermeneutic approach that first explores the nature of how to listen to a story that is already familiar to us and then draws on Heidegger's notion of the fourfold to seek to capture how the components of a'good birth' come together within experience. Setting: primary birthing centre, New Zealand. Participants: the focus of this paper is the story of one participant. It was her second birth; her first birth involved a lot of medical intervention. She had planned to travel one hour to the tertiary birthing unit but in labour chose to stay at the Birth Centre. Her story seems to portray a 'very good birth'. Findings: in talking of birth, the nature of a research approach is commonly to focus on one aspect: the place, the care givers, or the mode of care. In contrast, we took on the challenge of first listening to all that was involved in one woman's story. We came to see that what made her experience 'good' was'everything' gathered together in a coherent and supportive oneness. Heidegger's notion of the fourfold helped reveal that one cannot talk about one thing without at the same time talking about all the other things as well. Confidence was the thread that held the story together. Key conclusions: there is value in putting aside the fragmented approach of explicating birth to recognise the coming together of place, care, situation, and the mystery beyond explanation. Women grow a confidence in place when peers and community encourage the choice based on their own experience. Confidence of caregiver comes in relationship. Feeling confident within 'self' is part of the mystery. When confidence in the different dimensions holds together, birth is 'good'. Implications or practice: one cannot simply build a new birthing unit and assume it will offer a good experience of birth. Experience is about so much more. Being mindful of the dimensions of confidence that need to be built up and sheltered is a quest for wise leaders. Protecting the pockets where we know 'good birth' already flourishes is essential.en_NZ
dc.identifier.citationMidwifery, vol.37, pp.25 - 31en_NZ
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.midw.2016.03.012en_NZ
dc.identifier.issn0266-6138en_NZ
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10292/9884
dc.languageengen_NZ
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.relation.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2016.03.012
dc.rightsCopyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in (see Citation). Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. The definitive version was published in (see Citation). The original publication is available at (see Publisher's Version).
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccessen_NZ
dc.subjectConfidenceen_NZ
dc.subjectHeideggeren_NZ
dc.subjectHermeneuticsen_NZ
dc.subjectNormal birthen_NZ
dc.subjectPlace of birthen_NZ
dc.titleMidwifing the notion of a 'good' birth: a philosophical analysisen_NZ
dc.typeJournal Article
pubs.elements-id203485
pubs.organisational-data/AUT
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Health & Environmental Science
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Health & Environmental Science/Clinical Sciences
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Health & Environmental Science/Nursing
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Midwifing the notion of a 'good birth' for Scholary Commons.pdf
Size:
226.47 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
RE4.10 Grant of Licence.docx
Size:
14.05 KB
Format:
Microsoft Word 2007+
Description:
Download
Collections
School of Clinical Sciences