The Effects of Pain-Relief Methods on Low-Risk Childbearing Women Delivered by Midwives - Thesis Example

It is a well-known framework in the practice of midwifery that normal processes of pregnancy and birth can be facilitated through education, health care, and supportive information. These would involve both the clients and their families and would need physical care, emotional and social support, and involvement of family members taking into account the cultural values and personal preferences regarding health care (Begley, 2002, 310-317). Therefore, not only continuity of competent clinical management and care, but also there are important components of holistic care of the individual and promotion of health education.

Since midwifery is all about empowering the women to join in the decision-making process and urging her to speak for herself, the patients' experiences are important in building a theory about a particular health condition. Pregnancy is a natural phenomenon while its management is not. Care of the mothers during the intrapartum period is crucial since this takes care of the mother and the baby at the same time. Immense development in the healthcare front and its related knowledge has changed the scenario in maternity and child health in the developed world (Eberhardie, 1998, 149-152), where evidence-based regulations and guidelines work in the hospital setting as well as in the community to serve the pregnant laboring mothers with the best possible care, even though it is delivered by the midwives.

On the contrary, in the undeveloped and underdeveloped world, the picture is different, due to many reasons. The state and government and politics play a large role in policy making, and there is a diminished priority to such issues (Carr, 2003, 393-397). Developing care is a derivative of the education and knowledge of the midwives who offer care, whether it is in the hospital or in the community. If state nursing and midwifery education system is not modernized, there is a high chance that despite a good intent, the care by the midwives would be affected, and ultimately, the standard of care and satisfaction with care would be reflected through the perceptions of the patients.

Latendresse et al. (2005) speculate that the quality of midwifery care contributes to shorter and easier labor, which may, in turn, reduce the risk of complications (Latendresse et al., 2005, 386-391). This practice could have an advantage not only by reducing maternal mortality and morbidity but also in terms of value for money which is a critical factor for all countries (Bernis et al., 2003, 39-57). Whatever may be the country of the mother, any mother passes through latent, active, and transitional phases of the different stages of labor, and these psychological changes have the great impact on the laboring mother, and these usually intensify as the labor progresses.

These comprise a means of evaluation of a woman's progress in labor and how she is coping with the demands being placed upon her by labor and the environment within which she is laboring.