Being with woman: A guiding concept for the care of laboring women.
OBJECTIVE
To review the literature concerning the midwifery concept of being with woman and the related nursing concepts of presence and social support during childbirth.


METHODS
Literature in the English language from 1985 through 2000, using MEDLINE and CINAHL.


METHODS
Discussion of articles from relevant journals and textbooks were included. Pertinent older sources, which enhanced the understanding of the concepts, were reviewed.


RESULTS
Being with woman is defined as the provision of emotional, physical, spiritual, and psychological presence/support by the caregiver as desired by the laboring woman. Ample evidence exists for including being with woman as a central concept of the model of care for women in labor. The qualitative review indicates that women value and desire the attributes of the concept during childbirth. The qualitative and quantitative literature demonstrate beneficial physiological and psychological outcomes for women who experience being with woman.


CONCLUSIONS
Obstetric units would be wise to incorporate the being with woman model of care as routine policy for the care of laboring women by midwives and nurses. Being with woman provides psychological and physiological benefits for women, client satisfaction, and potential cost savings.
Hunter
Lauren P
LP
Division of Graduate Nursing Education, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA. lhunter@ucsd.edu
D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000451:nursing*; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007743:Labor, Obstetric / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D008880:Midwifery / Q000379:methods*; D009742:Nursing Theory; D009773:Obstetric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012106:Research; D012944:Social Support