Learning Objective #1: Describe common themes identified by birthing mothers during the birthing experience

Learning Objective #2: Identify the differences between the lived experiences during birth of primiparous versus multiparous multiparous mothers

---

The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experience of primiparous and multiparous women with regard to the themes during the birthing process in various positions. The advantages of using alternative positioning during the second stage of labor include; decreasing maternal fatigue, feeling more comfortable, and feeling more in control. A phenomenolgic research approach , as described by van Manen was selected to guide this study because it is well suited to studying lived experiences. An exploratory design will be used since only mothers who have experienced giving birth will have a voice in the experience. Purposeful sampling will be used to select participants. Participants will be selected from inpatient, laboring mothers from a mid-sized hospital in Southwest Florida. Twenty delivering mothers will be interviewed for an understanding of thematic findings. Face to face semistructured interviews will be conducted and detailed field notes in a methodological journal will be kept. The data will be analyzed using frequency distributions and descriptive statistics.