gms | German Medical Science

Background: Midwifery skills and culture are passed on in part through the stories that midwives tell each other. Stories help make our lives intelligible to others. They also serve an important purpose in forming one’s identity, as well as in sustaining and influencing culture. Human beings live their lives in narrative form. Birth stories hold profound significance for women, remaining etched in their memory and shared throughout their lifetime. Midwives, as the co-authors of women’s birth stories, can also be deeply affected by these experiences. Birth stories, integral to reflective midwifery practice, are an important tool for midwifery students, showing where profound learning has taken place, and also hold a special place for early career midwives who take pride in “having good stories to tell”.

Aims: The primary aim of this study was to explore and identify the development of skills and knowledge acquired by midwives post-certification when they commence work at a free-standing birth centre. In this presentation, birth stories from newly qualified midwives during their orientation period in free-standing birth centres will be shared to illustrate how births affected them, both in terms of their evolving skills and as co-authors of women’s birth stories.

Methods: This study is a hermeneutic phenomenological study located in an interpretivist paradigm. The lived experiences of newly qualified midwives in their orientation period were explored. The different methods of data collection included focus groups, open-ended interviews, digital capture, journaling, and rapid ethnography.

Results: One of the main themes discovered in the interviews with the newly qualified midwives was: Birth stories as building blocks for a sustainable identity as a midwife. The subthemes were: “I am feeling soulful”: The enduring experience of a birth; “I was amazed how much I already knew”: Bringing forth skills at birth; “I’m writing a birth story”: Documentation of births as a learning tool.

Relevancy: In terms of sustainability, it is imperative that midwives experience their everyday professional life in a positive way. Through storytelling, midwives’ relationships to the women they care for and to their colleagues can be strengthened, which has been identified in previous studies as a factor for retention in the profession.

Recommendations/conclusion: Birth stories play a pivotal role in shaping the identity and practice of midwives. Their experiences of birth have the potential to be nourishing and lead to the development of pride and a strong identity as a midwife. These stories serve not only as valuable tools for reflection and learning, but also as a means of preserving midwifery culture and expertise. Continued sharing of birth stories to foster a sense of community and facilitate reflection should be encouraged.

Ethics and conflicts of interest: A vote on ethics was obtained. This research was funded from the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education (01GY2007). There are no conflicts of interest.