Safe childbirth: Concept Analysis According to the Walker and Avant Method

Objective: This study analyzed the concept of "Safe delivery" using the method proposed by Walker and Avant, which establishes eight steps for the construction of a concept. Method: Literature search was carried out in the Virtual Health Library (VHL) and the Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo) in the period from April to July 2016. Controlled descriptors were: "Parturition", "Safety" and "Patient safety", in Portuguese and English. The compound term "Safe Delivery" was also used. Thirty two productions were included in this analysis. Results: Among the attributes, maternal and fetal monitoring stand out and, as antecedent, the identification of risks for preventing damage. The reduction of maternal and infant mortality and the well-being of the mother-child binomial were evident in this work. Following the establishment of model case and opposite case, the definition of safe delivery was obtained: "the set of care measures that seek to identify risks, prevent damage and/or complications during delivery, ensuring maternal and fetal monitoring in favor of the welfare of mother and child ". Conclusion: The analysis of the essential attributes, its antecedents and consequences made it possible to define the concept of safe delivery. However, it is considered that this concept is changeable bearing in mind that there is a lack of randomized studies to identify potential risks to childbirth.