Midwifery care is often described as "woman-centred" and "empowering," yet the concrete or specific practices underlying this kind of care are not well understood. The study examined what midwives say and do in the process of care-giving during pregnancy, and how their care enhances clients' sense of personal competence and capability. Using qualitative methods, the researcher observed, recorded, transcribed and analyzed prenatal visits with nine midwives and their clients in Quebec birth centres. Findings revealed that relaxed conversation was a pivotal feature of the visits and primarily served the client's purposes. At multiple levels, the reciprocal, genuinely dialogic nature of the conversational process allowed the client to take charge and encouraged her to name her world. Educational aspects of care started with the client's agenda, assumed that she had expertise of her own, and affirmed that she could know and act for herself. The key characteristic of midwives' work was the communication of confidence in the essential normalcy of pregnancy and birth, and in the inherent strengths of women in these experiences.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.79794 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Martin, Kerstin |
| Contributors | Butler-Kisber, Lynn (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of Integrated Studies in Education.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001975656, proquestno: AAIMQ88668, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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