[A woman's perception of the experience of homebirth assisted by midwife]

The purpose of this study was to understand the essence of midwife care throughout the pregnancy period, ending with the homebirth. Upon learning that the client had given birth at home, the investigator phoned her three months after she had done so. After having explained the purpose of this study, the investigator obtained the client's consent form on arrival at her house. With two 90-minute interviews being conducted, the investigator did not consider the data to be complete until they stopped producing new issues. In accordance with Husserl's phenomenology and the steps of Colaizzi's analysis method, the data's rigor was sustained. Data were classified into four majors themes relating to the client's feelings. These were (1) receiving care in accordance with the woman's wishes, (2) having the right to involve herself in decision making, (3) being supported in her ability to give birth by herself, (4) Strengthening family intimacy. This study shows that homebirth can become a positive experience, only if the pregnant woman has got full support from her family and health professionals before and during the homebirth. It is suggested that homebirth should be encouraged for those women who are healthy and strong enough to undertake it.