Deseret News, UT
July 28 2004

Birth nurses have big impact

Effect on patient, hospital’s future cited in BYU study
By Lois M. Collins
Deseret Morning News

What a nurse does in the delivery room to “dignify” the
birthing process may have lasting impact on the emotional well-being
of the patient and the economic future of the hospital, according to
a recently published study.
The results of research conducted by Brigham Young University
nursing professor Lynn Callister and co-authored by undergraduate
Rachel Matthews is published in the current issue of the Journal of
Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing.
“Even though this is an experience that lasts hours at most,
it’s a life-changing event that influences a woman for the rest of
her life,” Callister said in an e-mail interview with the Deseret
Morning News. She is in Russia on a Fulbright Fellowship. “The
satisfaction of a woman with her care while giving birth has a
lasting impact on her perceptions about the quality of the
health-care facility.
“Dignity represents an affirmation of being treated with
respect, experiencing open communication, engendering a sense of
confidence that power is shared and providing the woman with a sense
of individual worth,” she said.
She added that some believe a good birth experience does many
positive things, from enhancing the woman’s sense of self-worth and
helping her accept her maternal role to improving a couple’s
relationship and generally enriching the family experience.
The BYU researchers interviewed first-time mothers who had
given birth in the last three months. After each woman described her
child’s birth, responses were categorized and common issues
identified.
“The birthing experience doesn’t really depend on your doctor,”
one participant told them. “He’s there the last five or 10 minutes.
It’s the nurse that’s with you through the whole 12 hours. She plays
even a bigger role than the doctor.”
The mothers said that nurses best show respect for the birth
experience by sharing joy, communicating clearly, heeding the
mother’s requests and acknowledging the woman’s strength and courage
during the delivery process.
“Giving birth should be celebrated as a birthday party,”
Callister said, “and having the sense that her caregivers are
celebratory, that they have a desire to individualize her care and
are listening to what she is saying is so important.”
To illustrate the point, Callister tells of a woman for whom
delivery was moving so fast that it was too late for pain medication.
Contractions were coming fast and hard when the nurse cupped the
soon-to-be mother’s face in her hands, looked into her eyes and said,
“Nina, look at me and focus. Breathe with me. You can do it and I
will help you.” Later, the patient credited the nurse with helping
her find strength she didn’t know she had.
Callister can also tell stories that demonstrate what appeared
to the woman giving birth to be a lack of care. And she cites a
landmark study that has already shown “perceived lack of a caring
approach during such a vulnerable time was one of the core components
. . . for a traumatic birth.”
It’s a point, she said, to which hospitals and birthing
facilities should pay attention.
“In the majority of households in the United States, women are
the gatekeepers for family health and the decisionmakers about
seeking health care. Studies have demonstrated that when women have a
quality experience with a health-care facility, they are more likely
to make future health-care decisions that involve the same
institution,” Callister said. “If a woman has a positive experience
with a medical center, she is more likely to take an elderly parent
to that facility for care.”
Approximately 6 million American women become pregnant each
year.
While in Russia, Callister has been interviewing Russian women
who recently gave birth, and she has two students who are collecting
data on Armenian and Ukrainian childbearing women, as well, she said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress