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'I felt like I could do anything!' Writing the phenomenon of 'transcendent birth' through autoethnography
Ella Kurz1, D Davis2, J Browne3
1Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, University Drive, Belconnen, ACT 2617, Australia.
Objective:
To discuss the concept of 'transcendent birth', an as yet poorly articulated and under recognised psychosocial wellness phenomenon of childbirth.
Design:
an auto-ethnographical examination of the primary authors' journaled experiences as a student midwife and childbearing woman.
Setting:
three maternity care units in South Eastern Australia as well as the home of the primary author.
Findings:
The phenomenon of transcendent birth is linked with physiologic birth. Maternity care can hinder or facilitate physiologic birth, and therefore transcendent birth.
Key Conclusions:
Transcendent birth is more likely in maternity care models which value the childbearing woman and physiologic birth.
Implications For Practice:
Women's access to transcendent birth is demarcated by women's position in society, cultural knowledge of transcendent birth and the valuing of transcendent birth as a maternity care outcome.