Students' experience of nursing presence with poor mothers

An awareness of the health impact of poverty is core to effective nursing practice. Consequently, a clinical course for nursing students, the focus of which was the impact of poverty upon mental, physical, and spiritual health, was developed and implemented. As the students' understanding of poverty developed, they appreciated that a nurse's spirituality and nursing presence can empower poor and marginalized mothers. Nursing presence can provide a vital form of support for poor childbearing women that may reduce risk of poor birth outcomes.