Women's temporal experiences during the delivery process: a phenomenological study.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover the meaning of women's temporal experiences during the delivery process. Seven mothers were interviewed on their second day postpartum and asked to describe in depth all their thoughts and feelings related to their lived experiences of time passing during labor and delivery. Colaizzi's phenomenological method was used to analyze the data. The paradoxical and fluctuating nature of women's temporal experiences during the delivery process emerged. Implications for nursing practice are addressed.