Talking cervixes: How times materialise during the first stage of labour

The clock occupies a prominent position in many feminist and midwifery critiques of the medicalisation of labour and birth. Concern has long focused on the production of standardised 'progress' during labour via the expectation that once in 'established' labour, birthing people's cervixes should dilate at a particular rate, measurable in centimetres and clock time. In this article we draw on 37 audio- or video-recordings of women labouring in two UK midwife-led units in NHS hospital settings to develop a more nuanced critique of the way in which times materialise during labour. Mobilising insights from literature that approaches time as relational we suggest that it is helpful to explore the making of times during labour as multiple, uncertain and open-ended. This moves analysis of time during labour and birth beyond concern with particular forms of time (such as the clock or the body) towards understanding how times are constituted through interactions (for example, between midwives, cervixes, clocks, people in labour and their birth partners), and what they do.

'The calm before the storm': A qualitative study of fathers' experiences of early labour

BACKGROUND

Early labour care presents a challenge for maternity services and is a cause of dissatisfaction for women planning birth in an obstetric or midwifery unit who may feel unsupported or unwelcome at their planned place of birth. Little is known about the perspectives of men who support their partner during early labour.

METHODS

Opportunity sample offathers (n=12) in the UK who had been present during their partner's labour in the previous twelve months. Semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed before thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Fathers learned about the stages of labour during antenatal education and felt well prepared for early labour but found their knowledge difficult to apply, and relied on their partners to decide when to travel to the planned place of birth. Early labour was described as the 'calm before the storm' during which they carried out practical tasks or rested to ensure they could fulfil their role when labour progressed. However, men frequently felt 'like a spare part' during the later stages of labour.

DISCUSSION

The study has implications for antenatal educators, midwives and others supporting couples during pregnancy and labour. It supports reconsideration of how information about labour progress can be most usefully conveyed to couples. Professionals could acknowledge the value of supportive tasks carried out by fathers that might otherwise be experienced as doing 'nothing'. Further research should recruit more diverse samples of men and same-sex couples. Dyadic data collection methods may be of value.