Program

Nurse-Midwifery M.S.

Number of Pages

54

Year Approved

2023

First Advisor

Vingers, Julie Ann

Second Reader

Katrina Wu

Abstract

Introduction: Trauma exposure is a common experience for people of all ages and demographics, especially women. During vulnerable times such as pregnancy and childbirth, midwives can address these concerns by providing trauma-informed care (TIC) and preventing retraumatization. As these issues are brought to light in health care, standardization in educating and equipping midwives on TIC in the health care setting is needed. The aim in this systematic literature review was to investigate the actions and conversations midwives need to incorporate in their routine antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum care to integrate TIC. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using CINAHL, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and PsycINFO databases and a citation and hand search. Inclusion criteria included research on mothers 18–44 years of age, singleton pregnancy, and biologically female published between 2018–2022. Exclusion criteria included studies on mothers younger than 18 years old and biologically male. Relevant study demographics and findings were extracted and organized according to Kolcaba’s theory of comfort during the antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum periods. Results: Findings from 5,671 women with a history of past or current trauma demonstrated the need for TIC during the antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum periods. As evidenced by the results, no matter the type of trauma the individual faces, there are benefits seen when using different interventions to ensure care is administered to prevent retraumatization. The findings also revealed various TIC forms that are relevant during each pregnancy phase. Discussion: This review showed that participants with trauma histories overwhelmingly agreed that measures should be taken to prevent further retraumatization. Access to resources should be integrated into care and offered to clients. Findings in this review highlighted the need for additional TIC research and literature and for leading organizations to create policies endorsing TIC as a standard.

Degree Name

M.S. Nurse-Midwifery

Document Type

Masterʼs thesis

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