Abstract:BackgroundThere is a gap in knowledge and understanding relating to the experiences of women exposed to the opportunity of waterbirth. Our aim was to explore the perceptions and experiences of women who achieved or did not achieve their planned waterbirth.MethodsAn exploratory design using critical incident techniques was conducted between December 2015 and July 2016, in the birth centre of the tertiary public maternity hospital in Western Australia. Women were telephoned 6 weeks post birth. Demographic data i… Show more
“…In Study III, midwives advocating waterbirth took the view that it is a natural way of giving birth, while physicians disapprovingly described waterbirth as unnatural. Midwives have formerly described assisting in waterbirth as something that contributes to a calm, peaceful and more "instinctive birthing", which is empowering and helps to create a "woman-centred atmosphere" (168).…”
Section: Attitudes To Waterbirth and Maternity Carementioning
“…In Study III, midwives advocating waterbirth took the view that it is a natural way of giving birth, while physicians disapprovingly described waterbirth as unnatural. Midwives have formerly described assisting in waterbirth as something that contributes to a calm, peaceful and more "instinctive birthing", which is empowering and helps to create a "woman-centred atmosphere" (168).…”
Section: Attitudes To Waterbirth and Maternity Carementioning
“…Solo se encontró un único artículo que analizara las motivaciones de las gestantes. En este artículo, de Lewis et al (2018), se identifican las razones por las cuales las gestantes deciden tener un parto acuático, siendo el alivio del dolor la razón que tiene más.…”
Section: Percepciones De Matronas Y Gestantes En Relación Con El Uso unclassified
Introduction The growing demand of pregnant women to achieve a delivery as physiological as possible has led to a decrease in interventional techniques and consequently a rise in the search for alternative techniques for the relief of pain during labor, among which we can highlight hydrotherapy. Objectives To describe the effectiveness of the use of hydrotherapy in relation to the perception of pain during labor. Methodology Bibliographic review using the databases PubMed, Cuiden, Cuidatge, Cochrane Library and CINHAL. Results A total of 17 articles have been included: 13 original articles and 4 bibliographic reviews. In addition to this, the Clinical Practice Guideline on Normal Birth Care has been used. The articles refer to the maternal and perinatal results of the use of hydrotherapy in the dilatation phase and the expulsive phase, as well as the perceptions of midwives, nurses and pregnant women of its use. Conclusions The use of the hydrotherapy during the dilation phase of labor decreases the perception of pain and the use of pharmacological measures. However, the safety and efficacy of immersion in water in the expulsive phase have not been established and no benefits have been associated for the mother or the foetus.
“…The provision of water immersion for labour and birth is facilitated by midwives working within low risk midwifery-led models of care who are deemed competent to provide this method of birth [ 1 , 2 ]. The concept of competence is often aligned with confidence [ 3 ], but distinguishing between these two concepts is important as they are not always synonymous.…”
BackgroundThere is limited research examining midwives' education, knowledge and practice around immersion in water for labour or birth. Our aim was to address this gap in evidence and build knowledge around this important topic.MethodsThis mixed method study was performed in two phases, between August and December 2016, in the birth centre of a tertiary public maternity hospital in Western Australia. Phase one utilised a cross sectional design to examine perceptions of education, knowledge and practice around immersion in water for labour or birth through a questionnaire. Phase two employed a qualitative descriptive design and focus groups to explore what midwives enjoyed about caring for women who labour or birth in water and the challenges midwives experienced with waterbirth. Frequency distributions were employed for quantitative data. Thematic analysis was undertaken to extract common themes from focus group transcripts.ResultsThe majority (85%; 29 of 34) of midwives surveyed returned a questionnaire. Results from phase one confirmed that following training, 93% (27 of 29) of midwives felt equipped to facilitate waterbirth and the mean waterbirths required to facilitate confidence was seven. Midwives were confident caring for women in water during the first, second and third stage of labour and enjoyed facilitating water immersion for labour and birth. Finally, responses to labour and birth scenarios indicated midwives were practicing according to state-wide clinical guidance.Phase two included two focus groups of seven and five midwives. Exploration of what midwives enjoyed about caring for women who used water immersion revealed three themes: instinctive birthing; woman-centred atmosphere; and undisturbed space. Exploration of the challenges experienced with waterbirth revealed two themes: learning through reflection and facilities required to support waterbirth.ConclusionsThis research contributes to the growing knowledge base examining midwives' education, knowledge and practice around immersion in water for labour or birth. It also highlights the importance of exploring what immersion in water for labour and birth offers midwives, as this research suggests they are integral to sustaining waterbirth as an option for low risk women.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-018-1823-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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