Midwives' lived experience of caring during childbirth - a phenomenological study

- During the birth process midwives not only connect with the woman in labour, but also with the partner and the unborn child.
- By being the guided guide and sharing the responsibility together with the parents-to-be, the midwives create a trustful relationship and an atmosphere of calm serenity.
- When caring, the midwives follow the parents throughout the process of giving birth by balancing on the borders of the past, present, and future.
- The midwives share their possessed embodied knowledge of childbirth with the parents-to-be, while they together create new unique knowledge, which is a necessity to carry the caring process forward.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to obtain a deeper understanding of midwives' lived experience of caring during childbirth in a Swedish context.MethodsTen midwives were recruited from one university hospital with two separate delivery units in western Sweden. Data were collected by both written narratives and interviews. With an inductive approach using a descriptive phenomenological method, the answers to the question: “Can you describe a situation in which you felt that your caring was of importance for the woman and her partner?” were analysed.ResultsA general structure of the phenomenon of caring in midwifery during childbirth, including five key constituents: sharing the responsibility, being intentionally and authentically present, creating an atmosphere of calm serenity in a mutual relationship, possessing the embodied knowledge, and balancing on the borders in transition to parenthood.ConclusionsThis study emphasises how the midwives shared the responsibility and their possessed embodied knowledge of childbirth and how new unique knowledge was constructed together with the woman, child and her partner. The study has the potential to increase knowledge and understanding of midwives' lived experience of caring during childbirth and therefore has implications for practice, education, and research.