Safety is an interpretive act: A hermeneutic analysis of care in childbirth

Abstract

Objective To explore the interpretive nature of safety through a hermeneutic analysis of women's stories of feeling unsafe. Design This is a re-interpretation of data from a study completed in 1998 that explored the meaning of being safe in childbirth. Three stories are interpreted from that study using a hermeneutic phenomenological methodological approach. The analysis seeks to reveal what lies behind the simple, taken-for-granted stories of experience towards recognising the interpretive nature of safety. Setting New Zealand maternity services. Participants Stories from 3 women are profiled, with glimpses from the stories of other participants. Findings Women may experience unsafe events but when they seek help struggle to get the unsafety of the situation recognised. This is because there is nothing to see ‘now’, the woman has difficulty describing what is happening, or the practitioner does not follow through to investigate further. There is a sense that women can feel ‘not believed’. Further, the woman may not understand that what she is experiencing is not normal. Conclusions Safety reveals itself as lost or found in interpretation. Listening, watching and responding are the hallmarks of safe practice.