Journal Article•
Women with disabilities: the midwife's role and responsibilities.
About: This article is published in The practising midwife.The article was published on 2010-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 2 citations till now.
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TL;DR: The results of this study show some of the challenges for midwives during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the value of a good communication, emotional support, and stress management, to provide woman-centred care.
Abstract: Background The COVID-19 pandemic has become one of the most important threats to global health. Midwives are at the core of the response to the pandemic. Women still need midwifery support and care. The work of midwives is acknowledged as emotionally demanding, and their welfare may be compromised by a range of workplace and personal stress factors. Aim To investigate the experiences and attitudes of midwives who have provided pregnancy and childbirth care to women with a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection. Methods A qualitative phenomenological study was carried out in two Spanish tertiary hospitals. Fourteen midwives were recruited by purposive sampling technique. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews and analysed using Giorgi’s descriptive method. Findings Three themes emerged: “challenges and differences when working in a pandemic”, “emotional and mental health and wellbeing” and “women’s emotional impact perceived by midwives”. Midwives pointed to several factors tied to a safe, supportive and empowering work place: support from staff and managers, access to adequate personal protective equipment, and reliable guidelines. They also dealt with professional and personal challenges during the pandemic, showing feelings of fear, anxiety, uncertainty, discomfort, lack of support, and knowledge. Finally, midwives expressed their concerns about the feelings of pregnant women with COVID-19, such as fear, anxiety, and loneliness. Conclusion The results of this study show some of the challenges for midwives during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the value of a good communication, emotional support, and stress management, to provide woman-centred care.
29 citations
TL;DR: There is a need for optimization in the support and care of women with physical disabilities during pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium and the awareness of one’s own attitudes towards diversity influences professional security and sovereignty as well as the quality of care for women with disabilities.
Abstract: During pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium, women receive care from a range of health professionals, particularly midwives. To assess the current situation of maternity care for women with physical disabilities in Austria, this study investigated the perceptions and experiences of health professionals who have provided care for women with disabilities during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. The viewpoints of the participating health professionals were evaluated by means of semistructured interviews followed by an inductive qualitative content analysis of the interview transcripts, as proposed by Mayring. Four main categories emerged from the inductive content analysis: (i) structural conditions and accessibility, (ii) interprofessional teamwork and cooperation, (iii) action competence, and (iv) diversity-sensitive attitudes. According to the participating health professionals, the structural conditions were frequently not suitable for providing targeted group-oriented care services. Additionally, a shortage of time and staff resources also limited the necessary flexibility of treatment measures in the care of mothers with physical disabilities. The importance of interprofessional teamwork for providing adequate care was highlighted. The health professionals regarded interprofessionalism as an instrument of quality assurance and team meetings as an elementary component of high-quality care. On the other hand, the interviewees perceived a lack of action competence that was attributed to a low number of cases and a corresponding lack of experience and routine. Regarding diversity-sensitive attitudes, it became apparent that the topic of mothers with physical disabilities in care posed challenges to health professionals that influenced their natural handling of the interactions. The awareness of one’s own attitudes towards diversity, in the perinatal context in particular, influences professional security and sovereignty as well as the quality of care of women with disabilities. There is a need for optimization in the support and care of women with physical disabilities during pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium.
7 citations
Cites background from "Women with disabilities: the midwif..."
...The women should not be considered a vulnerable group but rather as experts in their disabilities [12]....
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...Thus, midwives play a critical role in ensuring that the needs of women with disabilities are met and that the care they receive is individualized and woman-centered [12]....
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...Working collaboratively with them will allow the midwife to gain invaluable knowledge [12]....
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...The underlying fear of making mistakes and the fear of violating the autonomy and self-determination of women with disabilities must be transformed into a trusting and powerful relationship [12]....
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