title: Mindful midwifery: a phenomenological paradigm.
abstract: Mindfulness is a form of critical reflection that has been used by healthcare professionals for over a decade (Epstein 1999). Reflection and self-awareness are vital to being an ethical and trustworthy practitioner, to good communication and to establishing relationships (Johns 2000). Embedding reflection into the core of one's practice is a challenging task. It is easy to pay lip service to informed choice while in reality offering only a limited and predefined menu. Pressure to comply with guidelines can lead to subtle ways in which women are manipulated towards making a particular decision. Midwives are urged to provide woman-centred care, but often they are not taught or shown how to achieve this. This article explores how phenomenological research methodology provides a model for 'mindful midwifery' that seeks to improve the quality of midwives' relationships with the women in their care, through a process of 'bridling' and 'questioning'.
authors.affiliation: Marquette University, Milwaukee.
authors.forename: Mariamni
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Plested
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000379:methods; D064866:Mindfulness; D016294:Models, Nursing; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care