Midwife’s experiences of using intuition as a motivating element in conveying assurance and care

Abstract

The expectations of a successful outcome during childbirth are high for all of the parties concerned. The overall objective of prenatal care and birth care is that midwives contribute to create the most positive experience for the expectant parents concerning their pregnancy, the actual childbirth and the child’s infancy. During the past thirty years, there has been a significant increase in Caesarean section frequency both in Sweden and in the rest of the Western World. More parents feel an overall insecurity when it comes to the labor phase leading up to childbirth. The purpose of this study was to describe how midwives experience their work of creating a sense of security and providing good nursing care when meeting with the expectant parents. A phenomenological approach was implemented using eleven qualitative interviews and these were analyzed with Giorgis’ method of analysis. The results of this analysis revealed three themes: organizational-professional conditions, the communicative ability of the midwives and their reflective-emotional competence. The ability of the midwives to trust their inner sensibility and intuition was something that was characteristic of all the interviews and consequently this was the essence of the results. Managements’ organization of the workload and how management utilized competent and experienced midwives affected the midwives’ ability to contribute to a sense of security and provide competent nursing care for expectant parents. When the communication was based on sensibility and compassion, the midwives’ were enabled to create a sound and trusting relationship between themselves, the MVC and with the expectant parents. The emotional involvement on the part of the midwives was an essential requirement for carrying out the work in a satisfactory manner. Perhaps a question for future research is how inner knowledge based on practical experience can benefit new personnel and how the organization and the education of healthcare providers can utilize the intuitive knowledge of midwives.