Newly qualified midwives' transition to qualified status and role: assimilating the 'habitus' or reshaping it?

AIM

to ascribe meaning to the everyday experiences of midwives during their first year of practice as they interact with their social environment.

DESIGN

a qualitative, ethnographic study.

SETTING

a major maternity department located in the West Country, UK.

PARTICIPANTS

seven newly qualified midwives working in the chosen setting.

MEASUREMENTS

as befits an ethnographic approach, observant participation and interviews in the field were the selected data collection tools. Reflexivity was at the hub of the research process. A field diary was kept in order to ensure that the researcher took into account both her own perceptions and the interactions with participants and significant others. This paper draws on data that illustrates some of the predispositions that may constitute the midwifery habitus.

FINDINGS

the main themes that emerged from the data were in relation to the culture of midwifery, fitting into the culture and determining what type of midwife the neophytes wanted to be ('what is a midwife?'). To enhance transparency, the latter theme is focused upon in this paper using a model that is a synthesis of some of the findings and Bourdieu's notion of habitus.

KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

this research provides insight into the professional and cultural experiences of newly qualified midwives, especially how cultural interactions, education and expectations may shape the midwifery habitus. It would seem that midwives who take a critical and reflective approach to practice are key players in the cultural re-creation of midwifery. Accordingly, to enable the aforementioned approach to practice, it is important that reflective and reflexive practices are an integral part of midwifery education. Nevertheless, the implications for practice are not merely one-dimensional. Observations in the field suggest the importance of making the quality of midwives' working lives a priority by facilitating a more supportive working environment. Moreover, midwives should not be marginalised for preferring to work in the community, the birth centre or the high-risk environment. Future planning of the maternity services needs to consider how a 'being with the woman' approach can be facilitated for all women, balancing the virtues of both the medical and midwifery models of care.