Mothers and Midwives views of Labour Care during Stillbirth
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An Exploration of experiences and perceptions of bereaved mothers and midwives’ views of care provided in labour during 3rd trimester stillbirth in the UK (2023): An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)
IRAS ID
294259
Contact name
Charlotte Mutton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Edinburgh Napier University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 31 days
Research summary
Contributing to the improvement of current bereavement care standards and experiences is paramount. Advancing care is only achievable by addressing the emotionally challenging and stigmatised experiences of those involved in the receipt and provision of bereavement care. The primary objective of this research is to explore bereaved mothers experiences and perceptions of labour care during 3rd trimester stillbirth. Additionally, the views of midwives who have provided care to mothers experiencing 3rd trimester stillbirth will be gathered to identify and contribute understanding to care experiences and practices. This qualitative study will use phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to provide a detailed examination of the personal lived experiences of the bereaved mothers and midwives. The study will recruit a sample size of 12 participants, 6 mothers and 6 midwives. Mothers will be recruited via their perinatal consultant or the Risk and Governance Team at NHS Lothian during their routine appointment following their Stillbirth experience. Midwives will be recruited via an email advertising the study via the Director of Midwifery. All identifiable information will be stored on password protected spreadsheets on NHS Lothians secure drive and destroyed once the data has been collected. Once consented, participants will take part in a semi-structured interview and mind-mapping exercise lasting up to 90 minutes, including 15 minutes before for questions and after for debrief. Interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed and mind-maps digitalised. Recordings will be destroyed at the point of transcription and a pseudonym assigned to the transcript. The anonymised transcript, consent form and mind-map will be linked for each participant. The data will then be interpreted and analysed using the 7 steps to IPA.
REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/PR/0599
Date of REC Opinion
25 Jul 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion