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Background: Many women living in Middle Eastern countries report negative, dehumanising experiences of childbirth. Finding effective ways of changing maternity care to improve women's experience is needed but is challenging., Aim: This paper explores the potential strategies to improve birthing experiences of women in Jordan and identifies the facilitators and obstacles to change., Method: A qualitative interpretive research design underpinned by a feminist approach was used. Seventeen community women, 14 midwives and midwifery leaders were engaged in workshops and face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Data were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis undertaken., Results: An overarching theme "From hopelessness to some hope" emerged from data analysis and comprised of two themes: 'It's hopeless-there are so many obstacles'; and 'Finding some hope for the way forward'. The community women were unhappy with the current maternity services but accepted the situation. Midwives offered explanations for the way women are treated, including that women have no voice. For these participants, the obstacles seemed almost insurmountable; however, there was some hope expressed about potential for small changes to occur., Conclusions: This study highlights the value of women and midwives sharing experiences and listening to the stories of women. Listening to women's birth stories may also be an important element of undergraduate and continuing education in Jordan. Small changes, such as promoting women's dignity by ensuring they are covered during birth are possible, but real change needs to be generated at a professional and societal level., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Privacy is related to a person's sense of self and the need to be respected and it is a key factor that contributes to women's satisfaction with their birth experiences., Aim: To examine the meaning of privacy for Jordanian women during labour and birth., Method: A qualitative interpretive design was used. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 27 Jordanian women. Of these women, 20 were living in Jordan while seven were living in Australia (with birthing experience in both Jordan and Australia). Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data., Results: The phrase 'there is no privacy' captured women's experience of birth in Jordanian public hospitals and in some private hospital settings. Women in public hospitals in Jordan had to share a room during their labour with no screening. This experience meant that they were, "lying there for everyone to see", "not even covered by a sheet" and with doctors and others coming in and out of their room. This experience contrasted with birth experienced in Australia., Conclusions: This study explicates the meaning of privacy to Jordanian women and demonstrates the impact of the lack of privacy during labour and birth. Seeking a birth in a private hospital in Jordan was one of the strategies that women used to gain privacy, although this was not always achieved. Some strategies were identified to facilitate privacy, such as being covered by a sheet; however, even simple practices are difficult to change in a patriarchal, medically dominated maternity system., (Copyright © 2019 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Overwhelmingly, women in Middle Eastern countries experience birth as dehumanising and disrespectful. Women's stories can be a very powerful way of informing health services about the impact of the care they receive and can promote practice change. The aim of this study is to examine Jordanian women's experiences and constructions of labour and birth in different settings (home, public and private hospitals in Jordan, and Australian public hospitals), over time and across generations., Method: A qualitative interpretive design was used. Data were collected by face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 27 Jordanian women. Of these women, 20 were living in Jordan (12 had given birth in the last five years and eight had birthed over 15 years ago) while seven were living in Australia (with birthing experience in both Jordan and Australia). Interview data were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically., Results: Women's birth experiences differed across settings and generations and were represented in the four themes: 'Birth at home: a place of comfort and control'; 'Public Hospital: you should not have to suffer'; 'Private Hospital: buying control' and 'Australian maternity care: a mixed experience'. In each theme, the concepts: Pain, Privacy, the Personal and to a lesser extent, Purity (cleanliness), were present but experienced in different ways depending on the setting (home, public or private hospital) and the country., Conclusions: The findings demonstrate how meanings attributed to labour and birth, particularly the experience of pain, are produced in different settings, providing insights into the institutional management and social context of birth in Jordan and other Middle Eastern countries. In the public hospital environment in Jordan, women had no support and were treated disrespectfully. This was in stark contrast to women birthing at home only one generation before. Change is urgently needed to offer humanised birth in the Jordanian maternity system.