Therapeutic touch and childbirth : a multiple case study of the experiences of five women
Date
2000
Authors
Roberts, Camille Valerie
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Abstract
This qualitative, descriptive study examines the experience of women receiving, during childbirth, the nursing intervention of Therapeutic Touch (TT). The researcher examined the experiences of five women who received TT during childbirth through subsequent interviews regarding the intervention. Analysis of interview data into themes reveals that TT increases sensory awareness of women during childbirth and, by doing so, helps them to reconnect to their inner resources, providing a source for change and transformation. These three themes are discussed and the theoretical framework of Martha Rogers is presented as a way to conceptualize the practice of TT and to understand these results. Also described are implications for the practice of nurses and other care providers who attend to women in childbirth and who may want to incorporate TT into their practices. Suggestions for future research are proposed.