Shared Decision Making Through the Patient's Eyes

Birth is an intimate moment in a woman's life, and healthcare providers play a pivotal role in pregnant women having safe and memorable birth experiences. Utilizing the shared decision-making model during the prenatal period involves listening to the voices of identified high-risk patients and giving them options for care during labor and birth. "Through the Patient's Eyes" is an innovative program that evolved from the care planning process for these identified high-risk obstetric patients who are invited back postpartum to describe to the team birth through "their" eyes. Through this program, the team learned that compassionate care comes from truly listening to pregnant women and their families and that nurses play a pivotal role as educators and advocates. Sharing birth stories with the staff who cared for them not only had a positive effect on the staff but also many women described profound healing afterward.