Use of the diary-interview method to explore women’s relationships with midwives during childbirth

Boyle, Sally (2017). Use of the diary-interview method to explore women’s relationships with midwives during childbirth. Sage Research Methods Cases.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526403476

Abstract

In 2005, I commenced a professional doctorate in health research to explore women’s relationships with their midwives during the childbearing period. I was particularly interested to discover whether women felt that they had developed partnership relationships with the midwives and also whether they felt that the midwives providing care offered choices regarding the place and type of care and whether they were able to contribute actively to the plan for the birth of their child.
This case study focuses on the first phase of the study during which I used a diary-interview method to collect the data. A purposive sample of pregnant women who attended local National Health Service antenatal clinics and were accessing midwifery-led care were recruited to participate in this study. Criteria for enrollment included the ability to communicate effectively in English, to enable informed consent, and all women were over 18 years of age. Although 22 women were initially recruited to the study, 16 women participated fully in this study. A brief introduction provides the background theory underpinning this data collection method. I then expand on how I used this method, illustrating throughout what I learnt during this research journey.

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