Do birthplans empower women? A study of their views

Last week, we explored women's views of whether birthplans empower them in the birth process. This week, the second half of the study is presented. It explored the perceptions of empowerment from ten midwives, using the birthplan as a tool. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated that several factors could disempower the women as well as the midwives. For women to be empowered, midwives need to provide open communication, adequate life skills, a nurturing and caring environment, and a democratic management structure. Advocacy and paternalism were found to be constraining factors for empowerment.