Together at the Top: A mutual journey - findings from the analysis of participant created visual data by women who became first-time mothers by means of a scheduled Caesarean section. (September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Staff, Mrs Lynette; Ayton, Jennifer; Nash, Meredith; Hughes, Roger
• Is Part Of: Women and birth. Volume 35(2022)Supplement 1
• Page Start: 58
• Page End: 59
• Publication Date: 2022-09
• Subjects: Midwives -- Periodicals; Pregnancy -- Periodicals; Midwifery -- Periodicals; Pregnancy -- Periodicals; 618.2
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wombi.2022.07.167
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1871-5192

Abstract

Abstract : Background: Research involving maternity care should be useful, relevant and enable midwives to understand and make sense of the unique contexts and life-worlds of the women they care for. A considerable amount of research exists surrounding Caesarean section and its significance to women, however, little has focussed on first-time mothers who undergo a SCS and what this means, and what the absence labour and vaginal birth might mean. Additionally, the use of participant created visual data has not previously been used as a data generation method in research focussing on women's experiences of Caesarean section. Aim: The researcher therefore undertook a study that investigated the meanings that first-time mothers who had a scheduled Caesarean section (SCS) attributed to not labouring and giving birth vaginally, and to SCS. Method: Participant created visual data was used as an adjunct data generation method alongside in-depth, face-to-face interviews with fourteen first-time mothers had a SCS within the past 5 years. Each woman created two pieces of visual data: one that represented the meanings she attributed to the absence of labour and vaginal birth, and the other, to undergoing a SCS. At a second in-depth face to face interview, each woman was asked to tell the story her visual data told. Findings: The visual data provided deep, rich and symbolic data that furthered insight into the meanings women attributed to not being able to labour and vaginally birth and to having to have a SCS, than interviewing alone might have offered. The findings from analysis of participant created visual data are presented in this session.