P53 - Together at the Top: Using participant created visual data as a qualitative research data generation method: views of participants

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

In a world where the Caesarean section (CS) rate is ever increasing, a glut of research exists that is commonly focussed on elective CS, maternal request CS, birth after CS, technical aspects of CS and risks and benefits of CS. Surprisingly, relatively little research has explored the meanings that first-time mothers attribute to having a scheduled Caesarean section, and consequently, not being able to labour or give birth vaginally. This study explored the meanings that fourteen first-time mothers who had a scheduled Caesarean section, attributed to not being able to labour and give birth vaginally, and to having to have a scheduled CS. This project used two methods: an initial face to face in-depth interview and the creation by each woman, of two pieces of visual data in the form of collages and/or drawings that were explained by the creator at a second face-to-face in-depth interview. One piece of visual data represented the meanings she attributed to labour and vaginal birth, and the other to having a scheduled Caesarean section. Participant created visual data is the focus of this presentation; specifically, the views of women about what it was like for them to create their visual data, the processes they used, and their reflections on the embodied activity of creating their visual data. The collaborative process of visual data analysis as a mutual journey of discovery between the women who participated in this research, and the researcher is also discussed.