Intrapartum midwifery care for women's enhanced childbirth: a concept analysis

Background/Aims Midwifery care is crucial for women's physical and psychological wellbeing after birth. However, diverse evaluation indicators make it challenging to establish a unified concept of intrapartum midwifery care. Women's opinions can provide insights for better midwifery care. This review aimed to define and explore midwives’ intrapartum care from women's perspective. Methods This review searched PubMed, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science and Ichushi-Web for articles published after 2010 in English and Japanese. Rodgers’ conceptual analysis was used to outline the antecedents, attributes and consequences of intrapartum care. Results A total of 87 articles were included. Analysis highlighted seven attributes, five antecedents and eight consequences of intrpartum care. Conclusions From women's perspective, intrapartum midwifery care should address their needs, empower them and provide warmth and security. It should also protect their dignity while supporting their decisions and sense of control during birth. Implications for practice Improving practice will ensure that women receive high-quality care from midwives during childbirth. Developing a scale based on the concepts identified in this study could enable objective assessment of care. Such an approach may enhance midwifery care and improve childbirth experiences across different cultural contexts.