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Exploring student midwives creative expression of the meaning of birth

Hall, Jennifer; Mitchell, Mary

Authors

Jennifer Hall

Mary Mitchell



Abstract

This paper presents a study which explored creative pieces made by student midwives during an educational session on spirituality in relation to midwifery. Background: Exploration of methods of teaching relating to midwifery has been limited, specifically relating to effective learning about spirituality. There is a current expectation in the UK that student midwives will be able to meet spiritual needs as part of a holistic approach to care. However, there has been limited exploration in the literature of ways to facilitate this learning. Creative art has been suggested to be a way of exploring personal spirituality; therefore we have introduced this option in an attempt to enable exploration of the concepts of spirituality. Method: A group of 16 midwifery students in their second year were initially present in the session. Retrospective exploration of five creative pieces the students made showing their personal meaning of birth was carried out using a framework devised from visual methodology in addition with a questionnaire. Findings: The experience of creating birth art and the teaching session as a whole was viewed as valuable in raising issues of spirituality and meaning in relation to birth. The creative pieces explored demonstrated students views of the principles of new life, the universality of birth, connection to the world outside the family, and the inclusion of love in the process. Conclusion: The students' artistic creations in this study illustrated their beliefs and values about birth at that moment in time. Their creations demonstrated their views of birth being symbolic of new life and growth; that it has a universal effect, not only the family, but outwardly on the social community and beyond; and that it is linked with the value of love. We interpret this to be relating to the elements of spirituality within birth. We suggest that approaching the meaning of birth through creativity and the concepts of spirituality may be a valuable component of creating holistic midwives and will need to be explored by further research. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Hall, J., & Mitchell, M. (2008). Exploring student midwives creative expression of the meaning of birth. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 3(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2007.09.004

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Apr 1, 2008
Journal Thinking Skills and Creativity
Print ISSN 1871-1871
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Not Peer Reviewed
Volume 3
Issue 1
Pages 1-14
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2007.09.004
Keywords spirituality, midwifery, education, arts, creativity, literature, qualitative
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1013795
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2007.09.004




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