An exploration of reasons why some women may leave the birth experience with emotional distress

Abstract

Background Following birth, some women report negative and traumatic feelings. There is relatively little research on women's perceptions of these emotions. It is important to understand why some women experience distress following labour. The work presented in this paper focuses on one aspect of a wider mixed methods research study. Aims To explore reasons why some women may leave the birth experience with emotional distress. Method A descriptive qualitative approach was used. A total of 16 semi-structured, qualitative interviews were undertaken. These were with women following birth, some of whom had attended a local birth reflections service. Thematic analysis was performed using typewritten transcripts. Findings Three key themes were identified which illuminated the topic of women's subjective distress: ‘giving birth as traumatic/horrific’, ‘lasting emotions linked to the birth process’ and ‘the impact of the health professional on women's experiences of giving birth’. As well as identifying how women are feeling following birth, this study has also highlighted how midwives can affect women's birth experience. It seems that trauma relating to the birth event may be mediated by professional behaviours and how supportive they are. Conclusion Lack of support by care professionals was a key factor associated with a negative birth experience. Maternity services and education providers need to ensure optimal training for all healthcare professionals who provide care to women during labour and birth.