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Background:

Pregnant women’s expectations regarding midwives’ care during first stage of labour are often positive and when these are not met, they may be dissatisfied and eventually have negative experiences of the labour and birth experiences. The care and treatment and attitudes during this phase can have strong influence both on the birth giving experience as a whole and on the pregnancy outcome. The support provided during the delivery is identified as an important factor in this regard, and midwives are central in providing this support.

Aim:

The aim of this is to examine mothers’ perceptions and experiences of first stage of labour in order to illuminate the supportive components of midwifery care.

Method:

This study is a meta-synthesis. It is based on qualitative meta-ethnography and includes 13 articles, quality assessed by the Johanna Briggs Institute for Evidence Based Nursing Quality Assessment tool and thereafter synthesized and categorized.

Results:

Three important components of supportive midwifery care were found, which represents the three main categories 1) A professional midwife 2) A present midwife 3) Individualized care. A professional midwife should support the woman in coping, be

knowledgeable about labour and being able to monitor signs and symptoms, support with labour pain, provide a supportive environment, be assertive and communicative and provide emotional support through empowering words. Being supported by a present midwife meant being welcomed, having satisfying interaction and dialogue and to be given prompt attention. Individualized care included that a midwife could adjust the care according to needs and have a clear documentation.

Conclusion and clinical implications:

Three categories and its pattern have been discussed in this thesis. Individual care provided by professional and present midwives is central. This will help mothers to get proper services and ensure safe motherhood. It also endorse the midwives to be more benevolent in the services provided. Midwives can be guided through this thesis and the service of mother can thereby be improved. Professional midwives need to enhance their communication skill and the manner of assertiveness. Present midwives need to emphasize on their interpersonal skill. It is also recommended that midwives should have a welcoming manner, and create a friendly environment for welcoming a new born in this world.