The expectations of a successful outcome are great during childbirth. The overall objective of prenatal care and birth care is that midwives contribute in creating the most positive experience of pregnancy, child birth and infancy as possible. During the past 30 years there has been a significant increase in sectiofrequency both in Sweden and the rest of the Western world. More parents feel an overall insecurity when it comes to child labour. The purpose of this study was to describe how midwives experience the work of creating a sense of security and good nursing when meeting the expectant parents.

The aim of the present study was to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of the contact with the ?fear of childbirth?-team (called Aurora-team) made by women who feared childbirth. Qualitative content analyses according to Graneheim and Lundman was used to analyse 91 womens own written notes made at the end of a questionnaire which (with a quantitative approach) evaluated the counseling made by the Aurora-team at a hospital in the south of Sweden. The following five categories developed during the analyses; experience of the conversation, not knowing creates fear, thoughts regarding mode of delivery, the importance of how the birth plan is managed and the personnel´s standpoint regarding fear of childbirth. These categories can be seen as parts of the themes of experiences which made the fear of childbirth easier or which made it worse.

Bakgrund: Att ge stöd är en central roll i barnmorskans yrke. Kvinnan kan välja att ha sin partner, vän, släkting eller en utomstående person med under förlossningen som ett stöd. Att välja att ha med sig en doula till förlossningen har under årens lopp ökat. Flera studier visar på att en doulas närvaro under förlossningen är både psykiskt och fysiskt positivt för kvinnan och barnet. Dock finns det ett fåtal studier som beskriver hur barnmorskan upplever en doulas närvaro under förlossningen.Syftet: med denna studie är att beskriva barnmorskornas upplevelse av en doulas närvaro under förlossningen.Metod: fyra barnmorskor intervjuades.

The main purpose of this stydy was to evaluate the Aurora clinic (for women afraid of birth/delivery) in the south of Sweden. Questionnaires were sent to 197 women who had contact with the Aurora clinic during 2007 and 2008. The group of participants contained both pregnant women and women who have given birth. A total of 136 women replied. The results showed that both the average age and the level of education of the women were high.

Background: In Sweden and Norway planned home birth is not included in the health care system. In Denmark women with expected low risk birth have the right to choose home birth. Registrations of home births in the Nordic countries are not completed and women?s experiences of planned home birth in Scandinavian context are not earlier described.Objective: The aim of this study was to describe women?s experiences of planned home birth in the Scandinavian countries.Design: Inductive content analysis. Fifty-three Scandinavian women who have experienced planned home birth have replied an open question in a questionnaire.

Several factors can affect the childbirth experience among parents. Previous research showed that parental education was insufficient. Parents who participated in both regular parental classes and psychoprophylaxis education were more satisfied with the psychoprophylaxis education compared to those who participated in only traditional parental classes. Psychoprophylaxis should be more considered as it could help the woman to handle her pain and contribute to increased self-esteem. The aim was to describe and illustrate the parents' childbirth experiences when psychoprophylaxis was used as childbirth preparation.

The main purpose of this stydy was to evaluate the Aurora clinic (for women afraid of birth/delivery) in the south of Sweden. Questionnaires were sent to 197 women who had contact with the Aurora clinic during 2007 and 2008. The group of participants contained both pregnant women and women who have given birth. A total of 136 women replied. The results showed that both the average age and the level of education of the women were high.

Research has shown fear of childbirth to be as common among men as women, but the phenomenon has not been as studied among men. Some men have trouble talking about their fear and therefore don?t get the support that they need. Where to go to get help is not so obvious for these men. The name mostly used for this clinic is Aurora.

Aim: To examine how midwives describe good and safe postpartum care of mothers with infants in neonatal care, and which prerequisites and obstacles they see to giving good and safe care while minimizing time of separation. Method: Semi structured qualitative interviews with ten midwives at two maternity wards in Uppsala. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and processed by manifest analysis. Results: Three categories were identified, Good and safe care, Organization as an obstacle and The midwife role. Good and safe postpartum care of mothers with infants in neonatal care required knowledge, appropriate equipment, good guidelines, possibility to see the mother, contact between mother and infant and good collaboration between the maternity and neonatal wards.

I Sverige är det en kvinna på tusen som väljer planerad hemförlossning. Med planerad hemförlossning menas en förlossning som planeras ske i det födande parets hem med stöd av en legitimerad barnmorska eller läkare. Då hemförlossning idag inte ingår i det svenska hälsovårdssystemet får kvinnan själv se till att ordna ett avtal med barnmorska eller läkare och även bekosta vården själv. Det finns forskning om hemförlossning i relation till medicinsk säkerhet och kvinnors upplevelser. Vidare finns ett fåtal studier om barnmorskor som bistår vid hemförlossning dock inga från Sverige.

Forskning har visat att blivande pappor, som i denna studie även benämns som män eller förstagångspappa, har svårt att känslomässigt knyta an till graviditeten innan den blir synlig. Informationen och stödet från Mödrahälsovården under graviditeten är främst riktat till kvinnan, vilket gör att män ges en känsla av utanförskap. De beskriver känslor som att bli åsidosatt av barnmorskan vilket ökar känslan av oro. I Sverige har alla föräldrar rätt till föräldrastöd och individuellt anpassat stöd. Hur upplever blivande förstagångspappor sin delaktighet och vad är delaktighet för dem? Syftet med studien är att belysa förstagångspappors upplevelse av delaktighet i alla tänkbara aspekter av graviditet.

The purpose of this study was to look at the experiences of midwives in maternalhealth care encounters with non-european-born women and men, and to determine ifmidwives deem any special competence necessary to handle these encounters well.We gathered information by means of qualitative interviews and semi structuredquestions with eight midwives all of whom matched the inclusion criterias and gavetheir personal consent. Midwives from four district health care centers in Uppsalawere included. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed by means of qualitativecontent analysis.The results reveal the experiences from encounters with non-european patients to betwofold. On one hand the encounter is a positive, exiting experience with anopportunity to learn more about a foreign culture and exchange experiences. On theother hand complications can occur as patients may have unexpected expectationsregarding the health care, have great difficulties with the language or haveexperienced traumatizing incidents, all on top of coming to Sweden alone withoutrelatives.In the encounter with non-european-born patients the midwives consider it importantto have special competence in form of knowledge of other cultures and religions asthis provides a greater understanding of the reasoning behind the patients? decisions.Cultural competence is also important as it helps avoid inadvertently insulting thepatient during the encounter.The special competence held by the midwives has been attained from their basic andspecialist education as well as from self acquired experiences and interests.

A part of the midwife?s profession is to promote and support breastfeeding. The objective of this study was to describe the perception of the level of support and advice regarding breast-feeding given to women who have received postnatal care at maternity wards, and to present the opinions of the aforementioned women on how this support could be improved.Method: Women who have given birth at Uppsala University Hospital were routinely asked to fill in internet-based questionnaires regarding their views on the care that they have received. In this study, our data consists of the feedback from four questions in these questionnaires regarding breast-feeding. The answers to the closed questions were presented with descriptive statistics and the comments on two open questions have been analysed with content analysis.Results: Out of 622 women who were cared for at the hospital?s maternity ward after giving birth, 83% stated that they were very satisfied or satisfied with the information and support they received about breast-feeding, and 78% expressed the same views regarding the delivery ward.

A part of the midwife?s profession is to promote and support breastfeeding. The objective of this study was to describe the perception of the level of support and advice regarding breast-feeding given to women who have received postnatal care at maternity wards, and to present the opinions of the aforementioned women on how this support could be improved.Method: Women who have given birth at Uppsala University Hospital were routinely asked to fill in internet-based questionnaires regarding their views on the care that they have received. In this study, our data consists of the feedback from four questions in these questionnaires regarding breast-feeding. The answers to the closed questions were presented with descriptive statistics and the comments on two open questions have been analysed with content analysis.Results: Out of 622 women who were cared for at the hospital?s maternity ward after giving birth, 83% stated that they were very satisfied or satisfied with the information and support they received about breast-feeding, and 78% expressed the same views regarding the delivery ward.

Inspired by Kitaro Nishida?s concept of pure experience this thesis analyses Bergson?s concept of experience with the intention of showing how experience is related to duration and how this in turn destabilizes certain tendencies towards subjectivism that can be found in Bergson?s work. This is accomplished through a reading of Matter and memory, Creative Evolution and Introduction to metaphysics that tries to desintegrate both subject and object in favor of duration. The thesis arrives at describing the combination of duration and non-subjective and supra-individual experience as a polyrhythmic movement..