Table 1

Characteristics of selected studies

Author(s)/year	Title	Country	Methodology	N parity	Time after birth	Birth setting	objective
1. Aune et al 3	Promoting a normal birth and a positive birth experience—Norwegian women’ s perspectives	Norway	Qualitative, focused on salutogenic principles	12 prim	5–6 weeks	Hospital birth unit	To understand factors important for a normal birth and positive birth experience
2. Dixon et al 13	The emotional journey of labour-women’s perspectives of the experience of labour moving towards birth	New Zealand	Critical feminist standpoint methodology	6 prim, 12 multi	6 months	Midwifery continuity care: 7 homebirths, 4 primary care, 7 tertiary care	To explore women’s experiences of birth
3. Hall & Holloway34	Staying in control: Women’s experiences of labour in water	UK	Grounded theory, using the constant comparative method	9 (no parity given)	48 hours	Hospital (water birth)	To examine women’s attempt at control during labour in the water
4. Halldorsdottir and Karlsdottir 11	Journeying through labour and delivery: Perceptions of women who have given birth	Iceland	Phenomenological perspective	14 (mix of parity)	2 months to 20 years	Hospital	To explore experience of giving birth
5. Leap et al 33	Journey to confidence: Women’s experiences of pain in labour and relational continuity of care	UK	Qualitative, descriptive, thematic analysis	5 prim, 5 multi	4 weeks	Albany midwifery practice, home and hospital	To explore women’s view of continuity of care and pain in labour
6. Ng & Sinclair32	Women’s experience of planned home birth: A phenomenological study	UK	Phenomenological perspective	9 (no parity given)	Not mentioned	Homebirths	To explore women’s lived experiences of planned homebirth
7. Reed, Barnes and Rowe12	Women’s experience of birth: Childbirth as a rite of passage	Australia	Narrative approach, rites of passage theory	5 prim 5 multi	6 months	6 hospital births, 4 homebirths	To explore women’s experiences of physiological childbirth
8. Sjöblom et al 31	A qualitative study of women’s experiences of home birth in Sweden	Sweden	Phenomenological– hermeneutic method.	12 (mix of parity)	Less than 10 years	Homebirths	To illuminate the experience of giving birth at home

prim, primipara.