101 Experiences, beliefs, and values influencing midwives’ attitude Table 2. Characteristics of participants (n = 20) Characteristic Value Age, mean (range), y 42.8 (24-60) Work experience,mean (range), y 16.4 (2-30) Place of education, n The Netherlands – North 4 The Netherlands – South 4 The Netherlands – Amsterdam 3 The Netherlands – Rotterdam 4 Abroad (Belgium, UK, Switzerland) 5 Size of midwifery practicea Small 6 Medium 9 Large 5 Location North 5 East 4 Central 4 West 3 South 4 aSize of the midwifery practice is based on the number of annually completed cases. The definition of a case is provision of complete care during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum period. Size is divided in: small (<80 completed cases), medium (80-300 completed cases), and large (>300 completed cases). Attitude towards interventions All midwives in our study agreed that pregnancy and childbirth are physiologic processes. Midwives told us about supervising the progress of labor and monitoring the condition of the mother, partner, and child as being their specific responsibility. Some midwives in our study did not only define medical procedures as interventions, but also included psychosocial aspects like being present and various forms of coaching as part of their definition of an intervention. Everything what influences the natural behavior of the woman giving birth … In case a woman needs some encouragement, such as “you can do this, it’s going well’. This is also an intervention for me. (Midwife 12) Talking about interventions, some midwives in our study seemed to have a more wait and see approach towards the provided care in pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. These midwives expressed how they preferred to be present in the background, meaning to be somewhere in the 4
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