Search

Aims: This study examined the nature and characteristics of Black women's interactions with medical providers during childbirth when accompanied by a perinatal support professional (PSP; similar to a doula). Design: The design was qualitative, and a phenomenological approach was employed to examine the meaning of women's experiences. Methods: We conducted in‐depth interviews with 25 Black women enrolled in a perinatal support program in Cleveland, Ohio, in late 2017 and early 2018, exploring their interactions with medical providers, the meaning of their experiences, and the roles their PSPs played. Results: Clients broadly categorized experiences as positive or negative. When medical providers respected them, their birth plans and/or collaborated with PSPs, women reported more positive experiences. They associated negative experiences with providers having their own timelines and agendas, and women perceiving their needs were unheard and/or disrespected. Conclusion: The findings emphasize the need for medical providers to be patient‐centred, set aside assumptions, treat their patients as experts, value women's knowledge and voice, and treat patients and their supports as part of the team. Impact: Findings support the importance of having a knowledgeable but non‐medical support person present during birth. We discuss implications for how empowerment may be a tool to achieving better birth outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes findings of a phenomenological study of Black women's experiences with a community-based perinatal support organization based in Cleveland, Ohio. Twenty-five women participated in interviews after their babies were born about how the organization in general, and perinatal support professionals (PSPs) in particular supported them during their pregnancies and the meaning of that support. The overall meaning of perinatal support was described as easing participants' transitions into motherhood through reducing uncertainty, social isolation, and stress. The three main themes described the meaning of perinatal support and included (a) easing the transition to motherhood through emotional support, expressed via love and help managing relationships; (b) easing the transition to motherhood through instrumental support, expressed via helping with basic needs and obtaining material goods for the baby; and (c) easing the transition to motherhood through informational support, expressed via help navigating systems and information, and gaining knowledge and skills around mothering and self-care. Implications for practice, policy, and research are discussed. Public Policy Relevance Statement: Black infant and maternal mortality rates, which research finds are related to the stress of racism, are at crisis levels. All women should have free access to community-based perinatal support, a cost-effective intervention that could work to reduce health disparities in part by reducing women's stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]