gms | German Medical Science

Background: The significance of touch in midwifery has almost not been researched even though professional touching and professional interpersonal relationship are central aspects of midwifery. Touch in science of nursing is more researched but because of the different nature of relationship the research results are only partly transferable to midwifery. Health and well-being of the pregnant woman and the unborn child are affected by them being touched.

Research question: What do women need and wish when being touched by a midwife or other medical professionals during pregnancy?

Method: A qualitative research study is based on three guided interviews. Swiss Women of the Kanton Graubünden had been interviewed about their personal experience with being touched by midwives and other professionals from early pregnancy until labour contractions. The women are aged 25 to 40 years and have born two children aged between 1 and 10 years at the time of the interview. The transcribed interviews are analysed according to the analyse method of Mayring.

Results: Communication is the key factor for successfully touching in the professional interpersonal relationship:

• The women want to be asked and their consent to be waited for before being touched. They want to be informed about purpose of the touching and talked to while being touched.
• Trust and mindfulness have a prominent role.
• Warm hands are desired. The character of the bare hand touching needs to be adapted individually to the woman.

Other factors

• Location: A trusted person is more important than the treatment room.
• Time: Well-being and feeling noticed are negatively affected by professionals in haste.

Significance: The master thesis demonstrates the need of adding “touching” as a topic in midwifery education and in textbooks. In-depth research seems advisable.

Knowledge on needs and wishes of women regarding touching should be respected in midwifery. These first findings help to understand conflicts with professional touching and to act more sensitively.

The effects of therapies with touching and massages can be more effectively administered to increase health and well-being of pregnant women and unborn children.

Conclusion: Touching is a highly sensitive topic which demands for respectful interaction of everyone involved. Social competence of midwives is expected by pregnant women and should be a matter of course. Midwifery is about professional interpersonal relationship. Hence, mutual expectations should be clear on: What does the woman desire and what is important for her in the mutual process?

Ethics and conflicts of interest: A vote on ethics was obtained. The research was financed by own resources. There are no conflicts of interest.

The PDF file of the poster submitted for the meeting is available in German as Attachment 1 [Attach. 1].