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A critical analysis of Australian policies and guidelines for water immersion during labour and birth
- Source :
- Women and Birth. 30:431-441
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2017.
-
Abstract
- Background Accessibility of water immersion for labour and/or birth is often dependent on the care provider and also the policies/guidelines that underpin practice. With little high quality research about the safety and practicality of water immersion, particularly for birth, policies/guidelines informing the practice may lack the evidence necessary to ensure practitioner confidence surrounding the option thereby limiting accessibility and women’s autonomy. Aim The aims of the study were to determine how water immersion policies and/or guidelines are informed, who interprets the evidence to inform policies/guidelines and to what extent the policy/guideline facilitates the option for labour and birth. Method Phase one of a three-phase mixed-methods study critically analysed 25 Australian water immersion policies/guidelines using critical discourse analysis. Findings Policies/guidelines pertaining to the practice of water immersion reflect subjective opinions and views of the current literature base in favour of the risk-focused obstetric and biomedical discursive practices. Written with hegemonic influence, policies and guidelines impact on the autonomy of both women and practitioners. Conclusion Policies and guidelines pertaining to water immersion, particularly for birth reflect opinion and varied interpretations of the current literature base. A degree of hegemonic influence was noted prompting recommendations for future maternity care policy and guidelines’. Ethical considerations The Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of South Australia approved the research.
- Subjects :
- Adult
childirth
Hegemony
media_common.quotation_subject
03 medical and health sciences
Maternity care
Critical discourse analysis
0302 clinical medicine
Nursing
Pregnancy
Immersion
Maternity and Midwifery
Humans
waterbirth
Medicine
Childbirth
030212 general & internal medicine
choice
risk
media_common
Labor, Obstetric
030219 obstetrics & reproductive medicine
business.industry
practice guideline
Australia
Parturition
Pregnancy Outcome
Water
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Baths
Guideline
Public relations
Delivery, Obstetric
Obstetric Labor Complications
Water immersion
Practice Guidelines as Topic
water immersion
Female
Human research
business
Autonomy
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 18715192
- Volume :
- 30
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Women and Birth
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....f0dbc135e525214766f294dc275426f5