Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
2636116 Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare 2016 6 Pages PDF
Abstract

•Intrapartum transfer from home to hospital can challenge the midwife, woman and health services.•Communication emerged as the mainstay in facilitating the transfer process.•“Under Scrutiny” captures midwives' experience of intrapartum transfer from home to hospital.

BackgroundWomen's experience of homebirth has been a focus of research, with limited international research and no Australian evidence of the experiences of midwives in relation to their experience of intrapartum transfers within the context of a planned homebirth.ObjectiveTo explore the experience of Western Australian midwives involved in an intrapartum transfer from home to hospital.MethodsA descriptive phenomenological study was conducted. Women who elect to have a homebirth in Western Australia have the choice of care from privately practising midwives or a publicly funded program. Midwives who were currently practising or had practised within the past three years and experienced an intrapartum transfer were invited to participate. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 midwives and data analysed using the Stevick–Colaizzi–Keen method.ResultsAnalysis revealed an overarching theme “under scrutiny” which captured four themes: “decision to transfer: getting the timing right”; “reception at the hospital: welcoming or not”; “maintaining continuity of carer” and “reflections: coming to terms with the experience”.ConclusionThe decision to transfer to hospital represents a profound shift in expectations for the woman and midwife that is often not recognised by hospital staff. Intrapartum transfer is a challenging clinical decision for all parties; midwives, women, partners and health services. Increased effort by maternity health professionals to improve communication and collaboration must be a priority to better support women and their partners who make an informed decision to have a planned homebirth.

Related Topics
Health Sciences Medicine and Dentistry Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health
Authors
, , , , ,