Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2013 May-Jun;42(3):311-20.
doi: 10.1111/1552-6909.12028. Epub 2013 Apr 18.

Midwives' verbal support of nulliparous women in second-stage labor

Noelle Borders  1 , Claire Wendland, Emily Haozous, Lawrence Leeman, Rebecca Rogers
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Midwives' verbal support of nulliparous women in second-stage labor

Noelle Borders et al. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2013 May-Jun.

Abstract

Objective: To describe how nurse-midwives verbally support nulliparous women during second-stage labor and document specific details of each second stage.

Design: Descriptive qualitative study.

Setting: A university hospital labor and delivery unit in the southwestern United States.

Participants: Nulliparous women (n = 14) older than age 18 and their attendant midwives (n = 9).

Methods: A single research midwife observed the entire second stage of each woman and used a standardized data collection form to record spontaneous or directed pushing, position changes, open and closed glottis pushing. A digital audio recorder was employed to capture verbal communication between the midwife and laboring woman. The research midwife and two qualitative experts employed content analysis to analyze the audio transcripts and identify categories of verbal support.

Results: Analysis revealed four categories of verbal support: affirmation, information sharing, direction, and baby talk. The vast majority of verbal communication by nurse-midwives consisted of affirmation and information sharing. Nurse-midwives gave direction for specific reasons. Women pushed spontaneously the majority of the time, regardless of epidural use.

Conclusion: Nurse-midwives use a range of verbal support strategies to guide the second stage. Directive support was relatively uncommon. Most verbal support instead affirmed a woman's ability to follow her own body's lead in second-stage labor, with or without epidural.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The laboring woman is nested in verbal support.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Albers LL, Sedler KD, Bedrick EJ, Teaf D, Peralta P. Midwifery care measures in the second stage of labor and reduction of genital tract trauma at birth: a randomized trial. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health. 2005;50:365–372. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric & Neonatal Nursing Nursing support of laboring women. Nursing and Women’s Health. 2011;15(5):448–449. doi:10.1111/j.1552-6909.2011.01288.x. - PubMed
    1. Bergstrom L, Richards L, Proctor A, Bohrer Avila L, Morse JM, Roberts JE. Birth talk in second stage labor. Qualitative Health Research. 2009;19:954–964. doi: 10.1177/1049732309338613. - PubMed
    1. Beynon CL. The normal second stage of labour: a plea for reform in its conduct. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Empire. 1957;64:815–820. - PubMed
    1. Bryanton J, Fraser-Davey H, Sullivan P. Women’s perceptions of nursing support during labor. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing. 1994;23:638–644. doi: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.1994.tb01933.x. - PubMed

Publication types