Ethical dilemmas experienced by midwives working in the delivery room

Abstract

Background Midwives frequently encounter ethical dilemmas in a critical unit such as a delivery room. Determining these ethical dilemmas is very important to prevent ethical problems and develop an ethical approach. Aim This study aims to identify the ethical dilemma experiences of midwives working in delivery rooms in Turkey. Research design This study follows a qualitative phenomenological research design. Participants and research context The sample comprised 13 midwives with at least two years working experience in delivery rooms, having completed the midwifery program of Manisa Celal Bayar University Health Sciences Institute in the 2017–2018 academic year. Data were collected through audio-recorded semi-structured interviews to reveal their experiences. Content analysis was done using the Nvivo software package program. All interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and transferred into NVivo for analysis. Ethical considerations Ethical approval was granted by Manisa Celal Bayar University University Health Sciences Ethics Committee (Date: 16.12.2016 No: 372). Participation in this study was voluntary. Written and verbal consent was gained. These consents include protecting midwives’ privacy, keeping information confidential, and/or allowing the participant to remain anonymous. Findings Four themes were identified: differences of approach to the birth process, hospital management, communication, and differences in ethical approach. Several factors explained these ethical dilemmas while the midwives adopted different approaches to ethical decision making. Discussion These midwives experienced various dilemmas while working in the delivery room and are aware of most of them. They also took responsibility in the decision-making process and experienced many intense emotions that they had to cope with. Conclusion The ethical dilemmas faced by these midwives while working in delivery rooms were mainly caused by hierarchy. Future studies could investigate clarifying job descriptions of midwives, who are authorized to manage normal births under their own responsibility, within the hospital management and the health care team.