title: A hero's tale of childbirth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to present a secondary analysis of the findings from an interpretive phenomenological study of women who had experienced a self-defined traumatic and subsequent positive birth experience.
  
  
  METHODS
  a re-interpretation of women's accounts through the conceptual lens of the hero narrative framework developed by Campbell (1993).
  
  
  METHODS
  12 women recruited from a large maternity trust in North-West England.
  
  
  RESULTS
  by drawing upon Campbell's analysis of myth and folklore, contextualised by the women's narratives, we illuminate the adversity and dysphoria of a distressing birth, and how through taking courage, drawing on inner strength and accessing targeted support, all of the participants went on to achieve a joyful, healing birth experience. This analysis reveals the power, courage and determination of the childbearing women in this study, and to re-envision their journey as a 'hero's tale'.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  this paper uncovers how myth can illuminate existential accounts of a phenomenon as well as raise important practice based implications. Creating services based on these principles has the potential to translate the theoretical insights from this study into a new maternity care praxis.
authors.affiliation: Maternal and Infant Nutrition and Nurture Unit, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK. GThomson@uclan.ac.uk
authors.forename: Gill
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Soo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Downe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D004739:England; D005086:Existentialism; D005260:Female; D005495:Folklore; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008016:Life Change Events; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D033262:Narration; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000523:psychology*; D058748:Pain Perception; D036801:Parturition / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D057240:Patient Preference; D011247:Pregnancy; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology