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dc.contributor.authorHigueras, Maria Velo-
dc.contributor.authorDouglas, Flora-
dc.contributor.authorKennedy, Catriona-
dc.date.accessioned2025-07-10T03:20:57Z-
dc.date.available2025-07-10T03:20:57Z-
dc.date.issued2024-04-
dc.identifier.citationReview Articleen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/11422-
dc.description.abstractBackground: Freebirth is currently defined as the deliberate decision to give birth without a regulated healthcare professional. Previous reviews have identified factors influencing women’s decision to freebirth, yet there is limited evidence on what is the care experience for women who opt to freebirth. Aim: To synthesise the qualitative evidence on women’s motivations to freebirth and their experience of maternity care when deciding to freebirth. Methods: We conducted a qualitative evidence synthesis using a sensitive search strategy in May 2022 and August 2023. Twenty-two publications between 2008 and 2023 and from ten different high-income countries were included. Thematic synthesis, underpinned by a feminist standpoint, was used to analyse the data. Findings: Three main analytical themes were developed in response to each of the review questions. ‘A quest for a safer birth’ describes the factors influencing women’s decision to freebirth. ‘Powerful and powerless midwives’ describes women’s perceptions of their care providers (mostly midwives) and how these perceptions influenced their decision to freebirth. ‘Rites of self-protection’ describes women’s care experiences and self-care practices in the pregnancy leading to freebirth Discussion: Freebirth was rarely women’s primary choice but the result of structural and relational barriers to access wanted care. Self-care in the form of freebirth helped women to achieve a positive birth experience and to protect their reproductive self-determination. Conclusion: A new woman-centred definition of freebirth is proposed as the practice to self-care during birth in contexts where emergency maternity care is readily available.en_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherElsevier Ltden_US
dc.subjectFreebirthen_US
dc.subjectUnassisted childbirthen_US
dc.subjectSelf-careen_US
dc.subjectReproductive rightsen_US
dc.subjectQualitativeen_US
dc.subjectHome childbirthen_US
dc.titleExploring women’s motivations to freebirth and their experience of maternity care: A systematic qualitative evidence synthesisen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
Appears in Collections:Vol 134 2024

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