Continuous support during intrapartum is undeniably beneficial. It increases the mother‟s chance of giving spontaneous vaginal birth, which is not physically traumatic.This indicates the effectiveness of continuous support during intrapartum. According to a Cochrane review conducted such support has no identified adverse effects (Hodnett et al., 2009:2). It is important that implementation of continuous intrapartum support should be promoted by the midwives in order to improve the quality of care given to labouring women. The objective of the study is to explore and describe the challenges in implementing continuous intrapartum support in public hospitals in the North West Province. The findings of this study will contribute to the formulation of recommendations to promote continuous intrapartum support in public hospitals in the North West Province. Focus group interviews were conducted to collect data from 33 (thirty-three) registered midwives who have worked in labour rooms for 2 years or more who are able to give in-depth and rich expressions of opinion. The focus group interviews were conducted in a natural setting in the labour unit to avoid inconvenience. An explorative, descriptive and contextual qualitative approach using a non-experimental research design was used in order to reach the aim of the study, being to promote continuous support during intrapartum in public hospitals in the North West Province. The study revealed that midwives have an understanding of the benefits of continuous intrapartum support, but its implementation is hindered by challenges. Recommendations are made to inform the different stakeholders involved in curbing the challenges in order for the implementation of continuous intrapartum support to be a success. These recommendations are directed at the nursing practice, nursing (midwifery) education, nursing research and policy. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Continuous support during intrapartum is undeniably beneficial. It increases the mother‟s chance of giving spontaneous vaginal birth, which is not physically traumatic.This indicates the effectiveness of continuous support during intrapartum. According to a Cochrane review conducted such support has no identified adverse effects (Hodnett et al., 2009:2). It is important that implementation of continuous intrapartum support should be promoted by the midwives in order to improve the quality of care given to labouring women. The objective of the study is to explore and describe the challenges in implementing continuous intrapartum support in public hospitals in the North West Province. The findings of this study will contribute to the formulation of recommendations to promote continuous intrapartum support in public hospitals in the North West Province. Focus group interviews were conducted to collect data from 33 (thirty-three) registered midwives who have worked in labour rooms for 2 years or more who are able to give in-depth and rich expressions of opinion. The focus group interviews were conducted in a natural setting in the labour unit to avoid inconvenience. An explorative, descriptive and contextual qualitative approach using a non-experimental research design was used in order to reach the aim of the study, being to promote continuous support during intrapartum in public hospitals in the North West Province. The study revealed that midwives have an understanding of the benefits of continuous intrapartum support, but its implementation is hindered by challenges. Recommendations are made to inform the different stakeholders involved in curbing the challenges in order for the implementation of continuous intrapartum support to be a success. These recommendations are directed at the nursing practice, nursing (midwifery) education, nursing research and policy. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Bakgrund: Stöd under födseln ger positiva följdverkningar och kan ges av olika personer, både från kvinnans eget nätverk och från professionella aktörer. När kvinnor får ett kontinuerligt professionellt stöd i tillägg till partnerstöd syns positiva utfall i form av bland annat färre kejsarsnitt och en minskad användning av syntetiskt oxytocin samt en mer positiv förlossningsupplevelse. Detta arbete har studerat hur kvinnor som fick "One to One"-stödunder förlossningen av en barnmorska upplevde sin förlossning i en svensk kontext där partnerstöd också är vanligt. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur födande som fått del av ett professionellt kontinuerligt stöd upplever sin förlossning med särskilt fokus på hur egen kapacitet, smärtupplevelse och trygghet samt hur oväntade händelser upplevdes. Metod: Studiens design är en kvalitativ deskriptiv studie med semistrukturerade intervjufrågor och induktiv ansats. Åtta kvinnor som fött inom ett “One to One- projekt" på ett universitetssjukhus i Sverige deltog. Analysen skedde med hjälp av reflexiv tematisk analys. Resultat: I analysen framkom tre huvudteman med 15 underteman. Namnen på huvudteman var “Jaget i födandet”, “Stöd och kontinuitet” och “Det väntade och det oväntade”. Resultatet visar att de deltagande upplevde en hög grad av autonomi och upplevde barnmorskorna som följsamma. Det var en kontinuerlig både verbal- och ickeverbal kommunikation par och barnmorska emellan, vilket både ledde till stor trygghet och känsla av att kunna vara helt i födandet. Deltagarna behövde inte värdera vad som skulle frågas eller meddelas då barnmorskan var på plats hela tiden. Stödet från barnmorska hade en positiv roll i hur smärtan kunde hanteras. Få upplevelser under födandet uppfattades som traumatiska då även det oväntade blev hanterbart tack vare tryggheten som stödet bidrog till. Slutsats: Studien bekräftar att ett kontinuerligt professionellt stöd ger en positiv förlossningsupplevelse och detta kan relateras till trygghetskänslan stödet ger. Klinisk tillämpning: Resultatet av studien bekräftar forskning kring kontinuerligt förlossningsstöd och kan förstärka synen på att det som rekommenderas måste implementeras. Studien tillför nya perspektiv på att med ett kontinuerligt stöd kan födande kan frikoppla sig och befinna sig helt i födandet och även hantera oväntade händelser. / Background: Support during birth has positive consequences and can be given by different people, both from the woman's own network and from professional actors. When women receive continuous professional support in addition to partner support, positive outcomes are seen in the form of, among other things, fewer caesarean sections and a reduced use of synthetic oxytocin as well as a more positive birth experience. This work has studied how women who received "One to One" support during the birth of a midwife experienced her birth in the Swedish context where partner support is also common. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate how women in labor who have received professional continuous support experience their birth with particular focus on how their own capacity, pain experience and safety, as well as how unexpected events were experienced. Method: The design of the study is a qualitative descriptive study with semi-structured interview questions and an inductive approach. Eight women who gave birth within a "One to One" project at a university hospital in Sweden participated. The analysis was done using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: The analysis revealed three main themes with 15 subthemes. The names of the mainthemes where "The self in childbirth", "Support and continuity" and "The expected and the unexpected". The results show that the participants experienced a high degree of autonomy and perceived the midwives as compliant. There was continuous both verbal and non-verbal communication between the couple and the midwife, which both led to great safety and the feeling of being able to be fully involved in birthing. The participants did not have to evaluate what was to be asked or communicated as the midwife was present the whole time. The support from the midwife had a positive role in how the pain could be managed. Few experiences during childbirth were perceived as traumatic as even the unexpected became manageable thanks to the safety that the support contributed to. Conclusion: The study confirms that continuous professional support provides a positive childbirth experience, and this can be related to the sense of security the support provides. Clinical application: The results of the study confirm research on continuous childbirth support and can reinforce the view that what is recommended must also be implemented. The study adds new perspectives to the fact that with continuous support, women in labor can disengage and be completely present in childbirth and also deal with unexpected events.