All that I need exists within me: A qualitative study of nulliparous Norwegian women's experiences with planned home birth.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to gain knowledge regarding how Norwegian nulliparous women experience planned home birth and why they choose this route of giving birth.

DESIGN

A qualitative approach was used, and the study data were derived from semi-structured individual interviews, which were analysed through systematic text condensation.

PARTICIPANTS

Ten Norwegian women aged nineteen to thirty-nine years were interviewed. They had each gone through with a successful planned home birth of their first child within the last two years. These women all resided in the middle, western and eastern areas of Norway. A certified midwife was present throughout the labour and birth, and no transfer to the hospital was necessary.

FINDINGS

The following two main themes were identified: 'inner motivation' and 'giving birth in safe surroundings'. The women in this study had a strong inner faith in the normal physiological processes of labour and birth and had educated and prepared themselves carefully for their planned home birth. To be able to enter one's own inner world was considered crucial for labour, and the trusting relationship they had with their midwife made this possible.

KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Planned home birth may be experienced as a very positive occurrence for nulliparous women, and the care those women in this study received contained several elements that can help to promote normal labour and birth at a time in which reducing interventions in maternity care is of importance. Their positive birth experiences gave the women confidence both in their transition to motherhood as well as in other aspects of life.