Reviewing Birth Experience With a Known Midwife

The study is a part of a PhD thesis. The study aims to develop a specific midwifery intervention consisting of two components; women writing about the birth experience and reviewing their experience with a known midwife. Women´s birth experience has received research attention worldwide, showing a prevalence of negative birth experience ranging from 5-34%. Considerable knowledge of predictors and impacts of negative birth experience exists, but less is known about effective interventions although women report that reviewing birth experiences is beneficial. Six to eight midwives, providing antenatal care at the high-risk maternity clinic at Landspitali University Hospital, provide the intervention after completing a special training program. Thirty women who had their antenatal care provided at the clinic, after 28 weeks of pregnancy, will be invited to write about their birth experience and review it with the midwife who provided their antenatal care, four to six weeks after birth. The study is based on a mixed method design where quantitative and qualitative data will be collected. Data including traumatic symptoms, birth outcomes, birth experience and experience of the intervention, will be collected from women before the intervention and then six weeks later. The participating midwives´ diaries and focus group interviews will be used to explore their experience of providing the intervention. Descriptive and thematic analysis will be used.