Mother tongue in the birth room: Women and midwives experience.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An institutional ethnographic study of Welsh-speaking women and midwives experience of using their native language in labour and birth.
IRAS ID
294863
Contact name
Catrin Roberts
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
This research aims to identify whether using the native language has an impact on the woman’s birth experience. Its focus is the Welsh language, as it is the official minority language in Wales. Additionally, understanding the experiences of Welsh-speaking midwives and its impact on job satisfaction will feed into, identifying the role of the organisation, legislation, and any frameworks that influence the experience. Future policies could be influenced if the findings demonstrate a change of practice is required to optimise care for women accessing NHS maternity services in Wales. Women giving birth in the Welsh NHS, have the right to equal care by having the opportunity to receive their care through Welsh. Being able to communicate in labour is essential for a positive birth experience. There is a limited number of studies exploring midwives' use of their native language in work, however, the main themes for job satisfaction are the work environment and making meaningful connections with women. The study area chosen is Gwynedd Hospital and Wrexham Maelor Hospital, due to their geographical, cultural, and linguistic differences, despite both being in North Wales and under the same Health Board. An institutional ethnography methodology is used, with online postnatal interviews, 3-5 weeks after birth with Welsh-speaking women. This will gain their perspective of the experience. Additionally, midwives will be offered a questionnaire to ascertain general perspectives of the Welsh language in the birth room, followed by online focus groups, to generate further understanding of their personal work experience. Finally, documents used in practice and that influence practice will be sourced for textual analysis.
REC name
Wales REC 5
REC reference
21/WA/0215
Date of REC Opinion
13 Sep 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion