Midwives experiences of establishing partnerships: working with pregnant women who use illicit drugs.
OBJECTIVE
To present the interpreted experiences of midwives who choose to work with pregnant women who also use illicit drugs.


METHODS
Twelve (n=12) Australian midwives were interviewed. Each interview was audio-taped, de-identified and transcribed. The interviews were analysed using a systematic, thematic analysis approach informed by Heideggarian hermeneutic phenomenology.


RESULTS
Three themes identified from the data that encapsulate the experience were establishing partnerships, making a difference, and letting go and redefining practice. The interpretations of establishing partnerships which includes engagement, genuine regard and compassion, with a subtheme courting the system are presented in this paper. The midwives' experiences were both positive and negative, as they were rewarded and challenged by the needs of women who use illicit drugs and the systems in which they worked.


CONCLUSIONS
The midwives in this study found that establishing partnerships was essential to their work. They appraised their experience of working with pregnant women who used illicit drugs and found strategies that attempted to meet the needs of the women, the system and themselves. The participants revealed that to support women and families who use illicit drugs in their community, partnerships must be based on deep respect and trust. Significant components engagement, genuine regard and compassion that are central to midwifery partnerships require revisiting to address the needs of this vulnerable population of women.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, Gippsland Campus, Northways Road, Churchill, Victoria 3842, Australia. Electronic address: maureen.miles@monash.edu.
Maureen
M
Miles
Independent Scholar, Adjunct Professor Central Queensland University, Monash University, James Cook University.. Electronic address: y.chapman@cqu.edu.au.
Ysanne
Y
Chapman
Head School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia. Electronic address: kfrancis@csu.edu.au.
Karen
K
Francis
Independent Scholar, Adjunct Professor Central Queensland University, Monash University, James Cook University.. Electronic address: Beverley.Taylor@monash.edu.
Beverley
B
Taylor
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D008875:Middle Aged; D008880:Midwifery / Q000379:methods*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D011247:Pregnancy; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy
D013287:Illicit Drugs
Illicit drug use; Midwives; Partnerships