Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Carmel Seibold.
This article by Carmel Seibold describes a study of 20 single midlife women undertaken in Melbourne, Australia, and an approach to analysis that fuses theoretical and methodological approaches and might best be described as discourses analysis which includes consideration of embodiment and materialism.
OBJECTIVE: To explore young pregnant women's experiences of embodiment, ongoing identity construction, decision-making processes and the way in which these are influenced by contemporary discourse, information sources and interaction with health professionals and others. DESIGN: An exploratory descriptive pilot study. Data were collected via diaries kept during pregnancy, two face-to-face, open-ended interviews, one in the second trimester of pregnancy and one six to eight weeks after the birth of the baby, and a brief telephone interview conducted six months post birth. SETTING: A major metropolitan hospital for women in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and the community. PARTICIPANTS: Five English speaking participants, aged between 17 and 23 years. FINDINGS: All the young women accepted, even welcomed, the physical changes of pregnancy. Acceptance of pregnancy and an evolving positive sense of identity was assisted by support from families, particularly mothers, access to sympathetic and expert health professionals, exposure to a range of opinions through classes, books and the media, general acceptance from society at large, support from friends, and choices and opportunities in relation to ongoing education and employment.
AIM: The metaphor of a journey will be used to describe the process covering 2 years of development of a Bachelor of Midwifery curriculum shared between a consortium of three universities in Victoria, Australia. BACKGROUND: The landscape or background against which this journey took place is described, providing a context for understanding the political and pragmatic steps necessary to achieve common vision and processes. This journey has necessitated a convergence of our thinking about what constitutes the living theory and philosophy of the new midwifery in the Australian context, and how this fits with international trends. PROCESS: The journey took midwife academics from one paradigm to another, forging partnerships between universities to develop an innovative undergraduate midwifery curriculum that shares academic expertise and resources. Consultation between a multitude of competing interests and voices became one of our biggest challenges, but this process itself has helped to change the very landscape in which we travel. In the end, we had to examine our baggage, and much that was excess had to be abandoned. In particular, our emphasis on language and the politics of the midwifery partnership with women became the subject of much debate and contention, and reflects the competing philosophies developing in the midwifery profession. Despite this, there were many who suggested that we had left behind too much, and others who would have us pack even more. Compromises were inevitable if we were to proceed and set up the next stage of a journey that would open a new and challenging frontier to working with Australian childbearing women.
The Werna Naloo Bachelor of Midwfery Consortium was formed between three universities in Victoria in 2000 to deliver a three-year Bachelor of Midwifery course. This paper describes the challenges experienced in implementing a multi-university consortium course, some of the steps taken to address course issues, as well as identifying the positive aspects of working within a consortium. Challenges related to administration of the course within the three universities and on-line subject delivery. Steps take to address challenges included establishment of a committee structure, including a curriculum implementation committee, ongoing dialogue between the course coordinators involved and being pro active in ensuring smooth delivery of the on-line content of the course. Some of the concerns expressed by the academics involved in the consortium reflected the findings of other reports of consortium education courses. These were insufficient time for ongoing sharing of ideas because of geographical distance resulting in some overlap of subject content, as well as the time taken to travel between institutions for meetings. Consortium benefits were the collegial sharing of ideas and resources, and the conversion of competition into alliance.