Professor Catriona Kennedy c.m.kennedy1@rgu.ac.uk
Associate Dean for Research
A feminist mixed-methods exploration of UK midwives’ attitudes and experiences on freebirth
People Involved
Professor Flora Douglas f.douglas3@rgu.ac.uk
Professor
Ms Maria Velo Higueras m.velo-higueras@rgu.ac.uk
Lecturer
Project Description
Freebirth is the term used to describe a birth that happens intentionally without the attendance of a qualified health care professional, even when free, universal access to midwifery care is provided by public health care services. The last decade has seen an apparently increased number of women opting to freebirth, raising concerns about its safety but also about the acceptability of the current maternity care provision. Structural barriers to access midwifery-led care, combined with a lack of trust in maternity care providers have been identified in the literature as important factors in women’s decision to freebirth. However, there exists a paucity of research exploring the views and experiences of midwives caring for them. This important knowledge gap is what this research aims to address. We want to understand how UK midwives feel about freebirth, what are their experiences of providing care to someone who chooses to freebirth, as well as the individual and contextual factors that influence their views and the care they provide or would provide to women who freebirth.
The study follows a sequential mixed-methods design with two components:
• Phase 1: A qualitative interpretive description design was used to capture the subjective and individually unique experience of UK clinical midwives in relation to freebirth. Conversational unstructured interviews were conducted online with 14 participants across the UK.
• Phase 2: An online quantitative survey will be used to capture the socially shared perspectives of UK midwives on freebirth. Intended launch date: Autumn 2024
| Status | Project Live |
|---|---|
| Funder(s) | RGU Funded Studentship |
| Value | £0.00 |
| Project Dates | Oct 1, 2020 - Mar 31, 2027 |
| This project contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals |
|
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