Left alone with the emotional surge – A qualitative study of midwives’ and obstetricians’ experiences of severe events on the labour ward

Abstract Background Working on the labour ward entails being responsible for severe events during which a mother or baby may be injured or may die. Such events might affect decision-making, team-working, capacity for empathy, and patient safety. Aim To explore midwives’ and obstetricians’ experiences, reactions and interpretations of being part of a severe event on the labour ward. Design. A qualitative study using content analysis of in-depth interviews. Participants. Fourteen Swedish healthcare providers: seven midwives, and seven obstetricians. Methods Qualitative content analysis was used to describe and interpret the manifest and latent meaning of the interview text, while remaining close to participants’ lived experiences. Results The overarching theme “Left alone with the emotional surge” was developed around three subthemes, supported by categories and subcategories. Professionals identified factors that had contributed to the course of events that made them perceive that they had been “acting within an illusory system of control and safety”. When the severity of the situation became clear, “cognitive and emotional discordance was experienced”, and, in the aftermath, the professionals described a “search for internal and external redemption” related to strong emotions of being left alone. Conclusions Facing severe obstetric events entails exposure to emotionally demanding situations and hence joint vulnerability. Midwives and obstetricians described a sense of loneliness and perceptions of insecurity regarding the organisational system, managers and colleagues, following a complex, severe event with a woman or her baby during childbirth.