Abstract
Background: Healthcare systems advocate for quality care and humanized relations in routine birth care, and have therefore created the Birth Plan, a document available to pregnant women to state their preferences in relation to the birth process. Methods: This qualitative research with a phenomenological design was carried out to record the experiences of women who presented a Birth Plan. Sample selection was carried out using non-probabilistic, intentional and convenience sampling, selecting seven participants who were willing to participate and share their experiences. Results: After analyzing the content of the interviews, four categories emerged: “respecting the woman’s wishes: humanizing the birth process”, “information and primary Care”, “expectations regarding the care received” and “results of using the birth plan”, with their corresponding subcategories. Conclusion: Women consider it beneficial to present a Birth Plan, because it informs them about the process and gives them the opportunity to have a better experience, which takes into account their preferences for making the delivery less instrumental. In addition, they state the importance of having trained professionals involved, and call for more attention to be paid to the birth process in general.
Highlights
Labor is a female physiological process, and a major event and experience in the lives of women
Once the woman decides to present a Birth Plan (BP) to the referral hospital, the official model or a free handwritten one, a midwife from the hospital will arrange a meeting with the woman and her partner to inform them about the possibilities and limitations of the hospital’s services, as well as to show them the delivery room
The women filled in their BP to make the medical staff aware of what they considered important during their labor, and to state how they wanted to experience the birth, if circumstances allowed
Summary
Labor is a female physiological process, and a major event and experience in the lives of women. 20th century, leading to the medicalization of childbirth [1] With this change to a hospital process, the mother began to be treated as a patient in need of medical attention, which has led to increased intervention during labor, resulting in the development of routine practices such as shaving, enemas, routine episiotomy, and others, often lacking in scientific evidence [2]. This document in no way replaces the information provided by the medical staff, nor does it convert the mother into the main organizer of the labor process, but rather enables her to influence the aspects that are negotiable. These issues must be respected, provided the health of the mother or baby is not jeopardized [3]. Results: After analyzing the content of the interviews, four categories emerged: “respecting the woman’s wishes: humanizing the birth process”, “information and primary Care”, “expectations regarding the care received” and “results of using the birth plan”, with their corresponding subcategories
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