Me aro ki te ha o hineahuone : women, miscarriage stories, and midwifery : towards a contextually relevant research methodology : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Midwifery at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Loading...
Date
2009
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
Rights
The Author
Abstract
Professional ethics and legal competencies require midwives practising in New
Zealand to provide care for childbearing women in a partnership characterised by
continuity, equality, mutual respect, trust, shared responsibility and decision making.
New Zealand is culturally and legislatively a bi-cultural environment and the cultural
safety of Maori (indigenous peoples) are prioritised within health legislation. The
midwifery philosophy of partnership and bi-cultural legislation, have provided a
foundation for developing a research methodology for the profession. This thesis
stories the interweaving of multiple epistemologies, theoretical tenets, philosophical
concepts, indigenous and Western European world views as well as women’s
narratives in creating and implementing a contextually relevant qualitative research
methodology, ‘Te Whakamaramtanga’.
The methodology was trialled in the field of miscarriage; a practice issue for midwives
in New Zealand. Research participants were recruited through ‘word of mouth’ and
snowballing methods. Twenty women participated in the research project and of these
nine identified as midwives. Twelve participants were of Non Maori descent, including
four women who were immigrants to New Zealand, and eight participants identified as
Maori. Participants’ stories were gathered through dialogical interviews, which
recognised the co-construction and exploration of knowledge. Ethical tenets outlined
in the methodology involved the use of extensive, ongoing consultation with Maori,
midwifery and local communities.
Maori, women, and midwives share an oral culture that values narratives as
facilitating the constitution of identities, creation and transmission of knowledge, and
the development of social relationships. Whole narrative, thematic and narrative
elements analyses of participants’ miscarriage-related talk have been developed
through drawing on kaupapa Maori philosophy, the social theories of Pierre Bourdieu,
Michel Foucault, Bruno Latour, Paul Ricouer, and Rom Harre as well as the narrative
concepts of Arthur Frank and Margaret Somers. Substantive chapters explore
whakapapa, corporeal temporalities, narrative silences and women’s desires for
recognition and relationships. A new theory is advanced that methodologies,
narratives, genealogies, temporalities, silences and women voices are simultaneously
co-constituted metaphysical and material technologies. These heterogeneous and
relational entities are collectively perceived as actants, hybrid actors, actor networks as
well as technologies, which exist within a range of dynamic and hierarchical networks
and/or fields in which this thesis is also embedded. My development of a multicultural
midwifery research methodology informed by multidisciplinary theoretical approaches
is innovative for midwifery research and theory, and potentially other health
disciplines. My research also addresses gaps in midwifery, miscarriage–related,
professional development, Maori health and health research literature.
Description
Keywords
Midwifery, Miscarriage, New Zealand, Maori health