1. LEBITSI MAUD MODIBA UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

2. WOMEN-CENTRED CARE IS AN APPROACH IN MIDWIFERY PRACTICE THAT IMPLIES A FOCUS ON THE WOMAN’S INDIVIDUAL NEEDS, EXPECTATIONS, AND ASPIRATIONS WITHIN HER PARTICULAR SOCIAL MILIEU.

3. IN SOUTH AFRICA ONE TO ONE CARE IS NOT PRACTICED BUT THE CARE IS FRAGMENTED

4. IS TO DESCRIBE THE LIVE EXPERIENCE OF THE “FOLLOW UP JOURNEY” ON A PREGNANT WOMAN BY LISTENING TO THE VOICES OF WOMEN AS THEY REFLECT ON THEIR JOURNEY.

5. To explore and describe the women’s experiences of the follow up journey To establish and describe the benefits of this journey from a pregnant woman’s viewpoint

6. QUALITATIVE EXPLORATORY DESCRIPTIVE CONTEXTUAL

7. ALL WOMEN WHO WERE TAKEN CARE OF BY THE GROUP OF STUDENTS AS ‘FOLLOW UP’ WOMAN’ FROM 2008-2009

8. SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWING WAS DONE IN THIS STUDY WITH THE AIM OF EXPLORING WOMEN’S EXPERIENCES OF THE FOLLOW UP JOURNEY PROGRAM. THE PURPOSIVE SAMPLE WAS UTILISED WITH THE WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE FOLLOW UP JOURNEY PROGRAMME DURING THE PRECEDING 3-6 MONTHS AND WHO WERE LINKED TO MIDWIFERY STUDENTS FROM THE THIRD TO THE FOURTH LEVELS.

9. RESULTS Two themes emerged from this study which were: a trusting relationship and being empowered. TRUSTING RELATIONSHIP BEING EMPOWERED

10. Under the trusting relationship, two subthemes were identified Relational continuity Presence Relational continuity

11. One woman said that: “Yes, I knew her and that was reassuring. She was always there for me i.e. even at night”.

12. “ I was very nervous before delivery, and I was scared with the thought of being alone for even a single second. They phoned the student midwife, and she arrived after thirty minutes, then she was there with us throughout the delivery”

13. BEING EMPOWERED Individual care Coping

14. There is a definite sense of caring, trust, commitment, and mutual respect with midwives. They make you feel like you are the only patient in the world. The care is so individualized, whether you are having a baby or just talking about all the stress in your life.

15. They gave me the feeling that I was managing very well…She said you are doing well ….

16. NURSING PRACTICE IMPLEMENTATION OF FOLLOW UP OF PREGNANT WOMEN RESEARCH COMPARITIVE STUDY ON CARE BY ONE MIDWIFE OR CARE BY DIFFERENT MIDWIVES

17. The result from this study shows that the importance of the support and care provided by the midwife seemed to grow strong, there is a lot of research describing the significance of the midwife support, information, comfort and encouragement to pregnant women. that needed to be mentioned It further showed that the relationship between a woman and a midwife is at the heart of midwifery practice.

18. THANK YOU TO ALL WOMEN WHO AGREED TO BE PART OF THIS STUDY