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The Landscape of Caring for Women: A Narrative Study of Midwifery Practice
Author(s) -
Kennedy Holly Powell,
Shan Maureen T.,
Chuahorm Usa,
Kravetz M. Kathryn
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of midwifery and women's health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.543
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1542-2011
pISSN - 1526-9523
DOI - 10.1111/j.1542-2011.2004.tb04403.x
Subject(s) - narrative , obstetrics , nursing , health care , narrative inquiry , delphi method , medicine , psychology , political science , art , statistics , literature , mathematics , law
Our purpose was to expand knowledge on the process and outcomes of midwifery care. Narrative analysis was used to interpret stories provided by midwives to illustrate their practice and recipients of midwifery care about their experience. A purposive sample of 14 midwives and four recipients of midwifery care was recruited as a subsample from a prior Delphi study on midwifery practice. Three broad themes were identified: 1) the midwife in relationship with the woman, 2) orchestration of an environment of care, and 3) the outcomes of care, called “life journeys” for the woman and the midwife. The findings are discussed from the perspectives of therapeutic landscapes described in cultural geography and prior research on midwifery practice. The challenge is to confirm the associations between the processes of care identified in these narratives with both short‐ and long‐term outcomes in the health of women and their families. These appear to go well beyond the usual perinatal measures currently used in health care research and hold implications for how care is delivered, measured, and evaluated.