 MIDWIFERY, MIND & SPIRIT:
EMERGING ISSUES OF CARE
Review by Jenny Parratt
When I first opened this book my eyes settled on the author's dedication to her four daughters. She expresses the hope that for them 'giving birth will be a spiritual event and not the product of a technological revolution'. This phrase touched me, encouraging me to read on. Although I would have stumbled over the words to express what was meant by 'spiritual event', I recognised it as a hope for my own daughters and I knew that this has been my personal aim for every woman with whom I have been midwife.
Midwifery, Mind and Spirit is a British book about the spirituality of women during pregnancy, birth and afterwards, as well as the spirituality of their midwives. It is the result of nearly ten years reflection on the topic by author, Jennifer Hall, who is a midwife and an educator. This thoroughly referenced work draws on research from around the world, although many of the citations are from American nurses. The general lack of focus on spirituality in health care and in particular, the scarcity of research by midwives into this area is highlighted in the hope that it will be addressed in the future. This is assisted by the inclusion of a list of possible areas for research into the spiritual experience of pregnant and birthing women along with the spiritual aspects of midwifery.
This book is written for midwives who are students, clinicians, educators and researchers. One of Jennifer Hall's aims is to provoke discussion about spiritual issues, providing at least a beginning point from which midwives can reflect and possibly change their practice. This aim is facilitated by the use of reflective questions highlighted in strategic positions throughout the text. Teaching and learning about spirituality in midwifery is introduced and a framework for teaching is suggested with the hope that educators will more overtly include it in the midwifery curriculum.
I believe the strength of this book is that the spiritual side of midwifery is clearly illustrated, showing how it pervades through all facets of practice. Australian midwives will be aware that spirituality should be a part of their practice as our competency standards mention spirituality as a dimension of the holistic approach that midwives have.1
What I particularly like about this book is that it clearly defines what spirituality (probably!) is. Moreover, it does this in a way that acknowledges the existence of each person's spirituality regardless of the presence of any formal or informal religious connections. Spirituality is defined and discussed with regard to the concepts of faith and hope and that something may exist beyond our worldly reality (transcendence). In addition, it is recognised to comprise a search for meaning and purpose. Spirituality is also shown to encompass the feelings of belonging and connecting as well as other aspects of experiencing relationships with people. Self-development, in particular self-awareness, and therefore self-worth are also demonstrated to be integral to one's spirituality along with intuitive behaviour and the use of story telling.
These elements of spirituality are all discussed with regard to gender issues, feminine and feminist spirituality, as well as the experiences of childbirth of the woman, her partner and the midwife. The author has done this from the perspective of the predominantly medicalised British maternity system but with reference to the possible characteristics of the spiritual midwife who can assist the woman to experience childbirth as a 'spiritual event'.
Reference:
1. ACMI (1998) ACMI Competency Standards for Midwives Australian College of Midwives Incorporated, Victoria.
Jenny Parratt
Midwife in private practice, Bendigo Vic.
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