A balancing act in an unknown territory: A metasynthesis of first-time mothers׳ experiences in early labour. Issue 3 (March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Eri, Tine S.; Bondas, Terese; Gross, Mechthild M.; Janssen, Patricia; Green, Josephine M.
• Is Part Of: Midwifery. Volume 31:Issue 3(2015)
• Page Start: e58
• Page End: e67
• Publication Date: 2015-03
• Subjects: Midwifery -- Periodicals; Midwifery -- Periodicals; Sages-femmes -- Périodiques; Midwifery; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 618.2005
• DOI: 10.1016/j.midw.2014.11.007
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0266-6138

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="author" id="ab0005"> <title id="sect0005">Abstract</title> <sec> <title id="sect0010">Objective</title> <p id="sp0025">to integrate findings of individual studies in order to broaden the understanding of first-time mothers׳ experiences of early labour.</p> </sec> <sec> <title id="sect0015">Design</title> <p id="sp0030">the methodology was metasynthesis which is based on the interpretive meta-ethnography described by <xref id="cr0150" rid="bib40">Noblit and Hare (1988)</xref>. Metasynthesis is research on research which synthesises the findings of previous qualitative studies, and the focus is on interpretation and the creation of new knowledge.</p> </sec> <sec> <title id="sect0020">Setting</title> <p id="sp0035">all included studies originated from high resource countries (USA 2, UK 4, and Scandinavia 5) and all were carried out in a context of hospital based maternity care.</p> </sec> <sec> <title id="sect0025">Participants</title> <p id="sp0040">a total of 231 women participated in the studies.</p> </sec> <sec> <title id="sect0030">Findings</title> <p id="sp0045">11 articles were included. The main results are presented with the metaphor a balancing act in an unknown territory. The 'unknown territory' has a double meaning: as the personal experience of going into labour for the first time and as encountering the maternity care system. On both levels women have to make significant decisions: whether labour really has started and subsequently when to go to the hospital. A key challenge is to balance the arrival on the labour ward at the 'right' time, not too early and not too late. Arriving at the 'right' time leads to a positive path, while arriving 'too soon' might lead to a cascade of negative experiences. The results are further presented with five central themes: 'Finding out if labour has started is absorbing'; 'Dealing with labour at home'; 'Trying to arrive at the labour ward at the right time'; 'There is always a risk of being sent home'; ׳Encountering health professionals arouses strong emotions׳.</p> </sec> <sec> <title id="sect0035">Conclusions</title> <p id="sp0050">the metasynthesis broadens the understanding of first-time mothers׳ experiences of early labour, and suggests that women׳s needs when planning a hospital birth are not being adequately met at this stage in the labour process. Three areas of future research are suggested: how to support and strengthen women during pregnancy in order to cope with early labour; women׳s experiences of early labour when planning a birth in contexts other than hospital; and to continue to investigate new ways of giving care during early labour.</p> </sec> </abstract>