Exploring Western Australian Women’s experiences of sharing positive birth stories

Abstract

Abstract Background Fear can impact childbirth experiences, yet most birth stories women hear portray birth as unfavourable, and women must actively seek out positive birth stories. Aims and objectives We aim to explore how women feel when sharing positive birth stories and the socially constructed motivations for or against sharing. Research question: What are the experiences of women who share positive birth stories? Methods A qualitative descriptive approach was adopted, adhering to Standards of Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) guidelines, and underpinned by an interpretivist research philosophy. Participants were recruited via Facebook using a non-probability, voluntary-response, purposive sampling method. Twelve English-speaking Western Australian women aged 24–38 years identified as having had a positive vaginal birth experience within the past 5 years. Semi-structured interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings The theme Not Safe to Share and sub-themes The Perils of Sharing and Changing the Narrative explores how participants repeatedly felt unable to share their birth stories because society’s dominant view of childbirth was negative. It describes the experienced or anticipated reactions that contributed to feeling unsafe and how participants withheld or altered their stories to feel accepted. The theme Safe Spaces and sub-theme The Joys of Sharing, explored participants’ love of sharing their birth stories in safe spaces, allowing re-access to feelings of elation, validation of their stories, and opportunity to empower others. Conclusions Women often feel reluctant to share their positive birth stories. Findings may help understand the lack of availability of positive birth stories in our society. Normalising the positive birth experience may improve the experience of sharing positive birth stories, potentially improving society’s view of childbirth.