Midwives care for all women, those who are well, informed, have a chronic illness
or disability and those who are vulnerable. Vulnerable women especially those who
are pregnant and use illicit drugs however are often seen as challenging and can be
cared for poorly, often stigmatised and marginalised. Illicit drug use especially in
women who are at reproductive age is increasing, with poly-drug use being most
common. Successive Australian governments have a harm minimisation stance
towards drug use, but in the social media punishment and distain are still prevalent
towards illicit drug users. The wombat in the room is a metaphor for the nonacknowledgement
of the issue of pregnant women and illicit drug use. The midwives
who work with these women have been silent on how they manage and care for these
women. This study aimed to examine and develop an understanding of the
phenomenon of midwives experiences of caring for pregnant women who use illicit
drugs.
Hermeneutic phenomenology underpinned by Heidegger's philosophy and
Gadamer's methodology was chosen to frame this research. The researcher was
seeking a deeper understanding of a particular phenomenon. Heidegger specifically
encouraged the consideration of our own 'Dasein', so that the 'other' and 'others'
were seen and, thereby, 'others' lived experiences were illuminated. Data was
generated with twelve participants, who shared stories of their experiences of caring
for pregnant women who used illicit drugs. The researcher used an approach
developed by Lindseth and Norberg (2004) inspired by Ricoeur (1976) to
thematically analyse the data.
