Women's experiences of continuity of care from student midwives - A qualitative study from Norway.

Objective: The study aimed to gain a deeper understanding of women's experience of continuity of care by student midwives during the childbearing process.

Method: A qualitative approach was the design used in this study. In-depth interviews were conducted with nine women who had received continuity of care during their childbearing process by student midwives. The interviews were analysed with the help of systematic text condensation. The study was approved by the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (ref. 905085) and the Regional Research Ethics Committee (ref. 2019/608).

Findings: Continuity of care enabled a deep relationship between the woman and the student midwife and made the care provided more individualised, giving the woman emotional support and preparing her for birth. The presence of a student midwife during labour and birth who knew the woman's story made the woman able to focus on the birth process. Even when unexpected events occurred, the woman had a positive birth experience due to the relationship between her and the student midwife. Continuity of care made the women feel safe and taken care of and was the preferred model of care.

Conclusion: Continuity of care contributes to individualised and personalised care, enabling all aspects of the woman's needs to be considered throughout the childbearing process. Due to the positive impact on the women in the present study, it is appropriate to implement a continuity of care model in midwifery education programmes. Further research should be conducted to examine how doing so would influence both student midwives and women.