Autonomy and advocacy in perinatal nursing practice.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Ethics
• Feminist Ethics
• Perinatal Care

Background:

• Nursing advocacy and patient autonomy are professional ideals but lack clear definition in clinical practice.
• This ambiguity creates uncertainty for nurses regarding their roles and responsibilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine moral responsibilities in the perinatal nurse-patient relationship using a feminist ethics perspective.
• To explore the influence of contextual and relational factors on nursing care during childbirth.
• To understand how childbearing women and nurses experience autonomy, advocacy, and choice during labor and birth.

Main Methods:

• Feminist ethics perspective.
• Examination of the perinatal nurse-patient relationship.
• Exploration of contextual and relational factors in nursing care.

Main Results:

• Feminist ethics provides a framework for understanding the complexities of advocacy and autonomy in perinatal nursing.
• The nurse-patient relationship is influenced by various interconnected factors during labor and birth.
• Experiences of autonomy, advocacy, and choice vary for women and nurses.

Conclusions:

• A feminist ethics approach clarifies the enactment of moral responsibilities in perinatal nursing.
• Understanding these dynamics is crucial for effective and ethical nursing care during childbirth.
• Further exploration is needed to fully define and implement nursing advocacy and patient autonomy in practice.