Midwives' perceptions of women's mobile phone use and impact on care in birth suite.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Women's use of mobile phones while in birth suite has been recognised as a common occurrence. However, no evidence has been reported around midwives' perceptions of how women's mobile phone use impacts midwifery care in birth suite. OBJECTIVE: To explore midwives' perceptions of women's mobile phone use and impact on care in the labour and birth environment. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive study was undertaken. Transcriptions from focus groups were subjected to thematic analysis. FINDINGS: Ten focus groups involving 63 Australian midwives were conducted. Four key themes and corresponding subthemes were identified 'considering consent' which encompassed the subthemes 'establishing boundaries' and 'taken by surprise'; 'competing with the phone' encompassing 'missing the experience' and 'delaying care'; 'being with woman' encompassing 'affecting relationships' and 'not my right to deny'; and finally 'bringing others into the room' with subthemes of 'keeping in touch' and 'seeking a second opinion'. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to explore midwives perceptions of women's mobile phone use and the impact on a midwife's ability to provide care in birth suite. Findings suggest that women's mobile phone use can influence the relationship between the midwife and the woman and contributes to delays in providing care. Midwives shared how they experienced tensions around their right to grant permission for their image to be recorded. Finally, mobile phones have allowed others not present in the birth suite to access women and influence their decision making. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE It is widely recognised women are bringing their mobile phones into the labour and birth environment. Therefore, it is important we explore midwives perceptions around the tensions and concerns that exist, so they can be addressed.