ObjectiveTo synthesise qualitative studies on women’s psychological experiences of physiological childbirth.DesignMeta-synthesis.MethodsStudies exploring women’s psychological experiences of physiological birth using qualitative methods were eligible. The research group searched the following databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, SocINDEX and Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection. We contacted the key authors searched reference lists of the collected articles. Quality assessment was done independently using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist. Studies were synthesised using techniques of meta-ethnography.ResultsEight studies involving 94 women were included. Three third order interpretations were identified: ‘maintaining self-confidence in early labour’, ‘withdrawing within as labour intensifies’ and ‘the uniqueness of the birth experience’. Using the first, second and third order interpretations, a line of argument developed that demonstrated ‘the empowering journey of giving birth’ encompassing the various emotions, thoughts and behaviours that women experience during birth.ConclusionGiving birth physiologically is an intense and transformative psychological experience that generates a sense of empowerment. The benefits of this process can be maximised through physical, emotional and social support for women, enhancing their belief in their ability to birth and not disturbing physiology unless it is necessary. Healthcare professionals need to take cognisance of the empowering effects of the psychological experience of physiological childbirth. Further research to validate the results from this study is necessary.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42016037072.
This paper is concerned with a random walk process in which and for i = 1, 2, ···, 2n
. This process is called a Bernoulli excursion. The main object is to find the distribution, the moments, and the asymptotic distribution of the random variable ω n
defined by . The results derived have various applications in the theory of probability, including random graphs, tournaments and order statistics.
This paper is concerned with a random walk process in which and for i = 1, 2, ···, 2n. This process is called a Bernoulli excursion. The main object is to find the distribution, the moments, and the asymptotic distribution of the random variable ω n defined by . The results derived have various applications in the theory of probability, including random graphs, tournaments and order statistics.
Let us suppose that customers arrive at a counter in accordance with a Poisson process of density Λ. The customers are served by a single server in order of arrival. The service times are identically distributed, mutually independent, positive random variables with distribution function H (x). Suppose that after being served each customer either immediately joins the queue again with probability p or departs permanently with probability q (p + q = 1). In this paper we shall determine for a stationary process the distribution of the queue size as well as the Laplace‐Stieltjes transform and the first two moments of the distribution function of the total time spent in the system by a customer.
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