Evaluating Spirituality in Birth Delivery

¶ … Spiritual Assessment Instrument How was giving birth in a hospital a spiritual experience for you? I found the experience to be quite surreal, actually. I was heavily medicated because I was experiencing a great deal of pain. Yet there was one point in which I was able to transcend my physical environment and focus on my son. Did the presence of the medical personnel enhance or detract from the spirituality of giving birth? Actually, it did a little of both.

On one hand the personnel were responsible for administering the medication that detracted from the sheer amount of pain I experienced. At the same time, I would have liked my son's beginning to have been in a quieter setting. Was there anything in your immediate environment during the final labor process which made the process uncomfortable -- in a non-physical sense -- for you? The room was really bright. I prefer the calm of night and dark, cool things.

Everything was pristine and white which helps for sanitary purposes, but is not my preferred environment. Did you think that you were specifically prepared for the experience of giving birth in a hospital? Why or why not? My preparation actually helped see me through the experience. I had consulted with my pastor immensely prior to my hospitalization, and he helped me to see the physical and spiritual significance of this experience and to retain the latter.

If you could change anything about the experience to make it more spiritual for you, what would you have done differently the next time you gave birth? I would actually like to try a home birth. I know a couple of midwives who can facilitate such a thing, and one or two of my friends have done home births. I believe the overall experience will be more conducive to producing a healthy baby in a more tailored environment.

The lady I interviewed for this assignment was a Mexican-American woman who lives two floor underneath me. She is 25 and recently had her first child. She described herself as a devout Catholic. What went well with this interview was the rapport I was able to establish with my subject. We had known each other fairly well prior to the interview. As such, I think it was easy for her to open up to me and to truly convey most aspects of her hospitalization for giving birth.

Additionally, I responded "proactively" (Sakurai, 2000) to encourage her responses. The main thing I would do differently in the future is continue to refine my interview questions and spirituality instrument, especially since "supporting patient's spirituality can…improve outcomes for some patients" (Joint Commission, 2005, p. 6). I believe that one can improve with each interview. For instance, after this interview I'll certainly focus more on the notion of adversity. There were no barriers to my completing the entire interview assessment tool.

My neighbor is one of my friends around the unit that I live. Thus, we already had a level of trust that enabled me to get through the instrument in its entirety. Again, in terms of changing my instrument to address challenges, there really were no challenges. However, I believe that I will include more questions that are specific to adversity and its effects on one's spiritual perceptions, since "patients'…spiritual.