Midwives' Experiences After Kahramanmaraş Earthquake: A Metaphor Analysis

Objective: This study aimed to explore midwives' experiences in providing care during the February 6, 2023, earthquake in Türkiye. Material and Methods: A phenomenological approach was used in this qualitative study. The sample consisted of 76 midwives who served during the Kahramanmaraş earthquake on February 6, 2023, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected with the interview form prepared by the researchers. The midwives were asked to complete the following sentence to express their experiences of providing care in the earthquake zone: Providing midwifery care during an earthquake is ''like _______ because _______''. Participants were requested to fill in their answers in 2 stages: In the 1st blank, they were to provide metaphors, and in the 2nd blank, they were to explain the reasons for their chosen metaphors. Interviews were conducted individually and the data were analyzed using content analysis. Results: This metaphor analysis revealed 52 valid metaphors that midwives used to describe their experiences of caregiving in earthquakes. These metaphors were grouped under 2 main themes and 5 sub-themes. These main themes were ''positive aspects'' and ''negative aspects''. These subthemes were ''compassion'', ''giving hope/healing'', ''hero/lifesaver'', ''difficulty'' and ''uncertainty''. Conclusion: Midwives play an active role in natural disasters. The issue of midwifery service during disasters should be addressed more comprehensively in midwifery training programs.