Keeping birth normal: research findings on midwifery care during childbirth

This study describes processes and outcomes of midwifery care through narratives told by exemplary midwives.

Narrative analysis.

Midwifery practices in hospital, birth center, and home settings.

Purposive sample of 14 midwives drawn from a large national Delphi panel on exemplary midwifery practice.

Systematic analysis of interview data was conducted until interpretive consensus was achieved across all text and codes. Results were compared with two prior qualitative studies conducted by the first author on midwifery practice for congruence and emergence of new findings.

The support of normalcy was identified as a significant process of midwifery care during labor and birth.

The midwives believed that birth is normal, and many of their actions were specifically aimed toward the support of it as a physiologic, rather than pathologic, process. Through their words, we see subtle care processes focused on meeting a woman's individual needs and tapping into her personal strength. Implications for practice and further research to link their approach to caring for women with perinatal outcomes are reviewed.