Objective The purpose of this study is to describe, from narrative accounts of their experiences, what kinds of "turning points" there were and what went through the minds of women who maintained their sense of trust in the midwife, even while suffering through a serious situation caused by a midwifery accident, and what implications that has for nursing.
Methods This is a life story study of two women who recognized that they were able to maintain a relationship of trust with the midwife even after a midwifery accident.
Data collection was conducted through having the women freely narrate their thoughts and feelings from the time of wanting to give birth at a midwife center, through to the present in chronological order, including the details of the midwifery accident. Following that, semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate the mindset of the women at each step of the journey they described.
Results When a crisis that threatened the life of her child developed, Ms. A was haunted by fear and anxiety regarding the aftereffects of the crisis, and deducing from the surrounding behavior that there had been a midwifery accident she searched for ways to confront the midwife.
However, as she was feeling regret and responsibility for choosing the midwifery owned maternity home, Ms. A could not lay all the blame upon the midwife alone. In the process of reconstructing the relationship with the midwife by continuing communication throughout the incident, and with the dispute findings having established a victim-perpetrator relationship, and the desire for the midwifery owned maternity home to resume business, Ms. A wanted a sense of closure in the form of compensation. Ms. A, having reconfirmed the importance of life and health through the midwifery accident, was searching for a new way of life.
Ms. B sensed from the attitude of the midwife that there was little possibility of her fetus being alive, and even while suffering shock, she deliberated on the fact that the midwife was also a healthcare worker like herself. She entrusted the delivery of the dead baby to the midwife who showed an unfailingly supportive attitude. With grief care, Ms. B was able to say a sufficient goodbye to the baby, and as a result of many conversations with the midwife, she came to have a deep-seated conviction that there was no-one to blame. Overcoming the loss, Ms. B acquired a family and a new view on life.
Conclusion The women who maintained their sense of trust in the midwife even through a midwifery accident, did so based upon the relationship cultivated up until the time of the incident, as despite a temporarily shaken sense of trust in the midwife, the women felt they had been dealt with in good faith. It is essential for nurses to make efforts in the event of an incident occurring to recognize the process and 'turning points' that lead to conflict and the collapse of the relationship of trust, and to provide long-term continuing care.
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