Date of Award
Spring 5-3-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
First Advisor
Monica Ketchie
Second Advisor
Deborah MacMillan
Abstract
Birth in the United States (U.S.) leans towards a medicalized approach, overlooking the advantages of physiologic birth. Physiologic birth is a natural approach to childbirth, without medical interventions. Intrapartum nurses play an integral role in caring for women during labor by providing continuous labor support. Competing nursing tasks, exacerbated nursing shortages and increased nurse to patient ratios have made it increasingly challenging for intrapartum (IP) nurses to provide continuous labor support to their patients. The aim of this DNP project is to gain insight into the beliefs of IP nurses regarding childbirth and how these beliefs impact their approach to either medicalized or physiologic birth practices and whether they are supportive of doulas as part of the obstetrical team. This DNP project used a cross-sectional correlational study design of intrapartum nurses at three facilities in the southeastern U.S. A Likert-type questionnaire and an open-ended qualitative survey was administered to intrapartum nurses using a convenience sampling method. Among the project participants, the majority of IP nurses had birth beliefs supportive of physiologic birth practices. Older nurses with more years of experience and in rural geographic facility settings had higher scores indicating stronger physiologic birth beliefs. IP nurses minimally agreed they understood the formal training of doulas. Disseminated findings in these facilities will lead to collaboration and strategies to improve continuous labor support and improve utilization of doulas as part of the obstetrical team.
Recommended Citation
Schwartz, Karen, "Promoting Physiologic Birth by Improving access to Doulas" (2024). Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Translational and Clinical Research Projects. 71.
https://kb.gcsu.edu/dnp/71
