Empowered or powerless? Contributing factors to women’s appraisal of traumatic childbirth

Abstract

<jats:sec><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p> Approximately one-third of women reflect on childbirth as a traumatic experience and the way women appraise their birth experience is significant to their postnatal wellbeing. This study aimed to identify and compare experiences of childbirth for mothers who reflect on birth as a traumatic or non-traumatic event. </jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p> Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 mothers in the postpartum period who appraised their birth as either traumatic or non-traumatic. The data were analysed using thematic analysis to elicit themes and subthemes. </jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p> Thematic analysis revealed two contrasting themes relating to whether women felt empowered or powerless during birth. Empowerment was associated with women's trust in their maternity care, the sense of control they felt over their body and birth and the extent to which they felt informed of their options. Being powerless was associated with distrust towards healthcare services, feeling as though they lacked control over the process and feeling ‘in the dark’ about what was happening. </jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p> Women's sense of empowerment during birth is an important contributor to the appraisal of childbirth as a traumatic or non-traumatic experience. Empowerment is largely determined by the dynamic between a mother and the support around her. </jats:p></jats:sec>