Spiritual Experiences of Portuguese Women Who had a Water Birth

Joyce da Costa Silveira de Camargo1,2, Flávia Dos Santos Oliveira Gama3,4, Angela Megumi Ochiai5,6

  • 1Abel Salazar Institute of Sciences, Biomedical of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. joyce@usp.br.

This study aimed to understand the significance of spirituality to Portuguese women who had a water birth. In-depth interviews, using a semi-structured questionnaire, were conducted with 24 women who experienced water birth at the hospital or home. Results were analyzed from a narrative interpretation perspective. Three spirituality-related categories emerged: (1) Beliefs and connections with the body; (2) Spirituality: integration of being a woman and transformation during birth; and (3) Spirituality as wisdom, intuition, or the sixth sense. Spirituality was perceived in women's faith and beliefs in a superior being that helped them manage the unpredictability and uncontrollability of giving birth.

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