1. Women's experiences of breech birth and disciplinary power
- Author
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Deborah Sundin, Sara Morris, and Sadie Geraghty
- Subjects
Medical education ,030504 nursing ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Exploratory research ,Parturition ,Midwifery ,Style (sociolinguistics) ,Power (social and political) ,03 medical and health sciences ,Power-knowledge ,0302 clinical medicine ,Power dynamics ,Breech presentation ,Pregnancy ,Humans ,Female ,030212 general & internal medicine ,0305 other medical science ,Psychology ,Breech Presentation ,Discipline ,General Nursing ,Autonomy ,Qualitative Research ,media_common - Abstract
Aims To explore women's experiences of breech pregnancy and birth to identify areas in practice for improvement. Design A descriptive exploratory study was conducted involving 20 women who had experienced a breech birth between 2013 and 2018. Methods Semi-structured interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were examined using a free-form 'circling and parking' style of analysis. Foucault's concepts of power/knowledge were utilized to describe existing power relations. Results Women experienced varying degrees of disciplinary power throughout their experiences. Knowledge was used as a means of enforcing disciplinary power by some clinicians and by women to 'arm' themselves and 'fight' to regain what they perceived as a loss of power and autonomy. Midwives were seen as navigators of a restrictive, medicalized healthcare system. Conclusion By better understanding the power dynamics which exist as well as the stages women go through when experiencing a breech presentation, there remains the potential to identify areas in practice which need improving, and aid clinicians in better supporting women through what can be a very difficult time. more...
- Published
- 2021