title: Making meaning: women's birth narratives.
abstract: Birth stories are personal narratives grounded in the pivotal life experience of giving birth. Richly descriptive birth narratives from culturally diverse childbearing women document the importance of listening to the voices of women. Benefits of sharing birth stories include the opportunity for integration of a major event into the framework of a mother's life; the opportunity to share a significant life experience; the opportunity to discuss fears, concerns, "missing pieces" or feelings of inadequacy or disappointment; the opportunity for the woman to gain an understanding of her strengths; and the opportunity to connect with other women. Providing women with the opportunity to share their birth stories is an important nursing intervention.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602-5544, USA. lynn_callister@byu.edu
authors.forename: Lynn Clark
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Callister
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000569:Americas; D001208:Asia; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D003142:Communication; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007743:Labor, Obstetric / Q000208:ethnology*; D008016:Life Change Events; D008875:Middle Aged; D008877:Middle East; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D033262:Narration; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009773:Obstetric Nursing / Q000379:methods; D036801:Parturition / Q000208:ethnology*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011247:Pregnancy; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries; D012650:Self Disclosure; D013019:South Africa; D029181:Spirituality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards