Emotional
intelligence at
admission in
labour
Ruth Deery
Professor of Maternal Health
Aims of session
• To provide an overview of emotional intelligence
• To highlight research relating to emotional
intelligence /emotion work in midwifery
• To analyse how misplaced emotional intelligence
can effect a woman's admission to hospital and
thus negatively effect the labour process
• To devise our own positive coping strategies
Relationships, context and
organisation
‘...it is not simply the woman or the
setting, the attendant or the policies
that influence the outcome. Rather, it
is the complex interrelationships
among these separate elements’
(Enkin, 2006, p.268)
‘The Organizational Flow’
• ‘The many moves to standardize services
through guidelines, policies, procedures and
pathways have made the organizational flow
more powerful…the pressure to go with the flow
of the organization had a divisive effect on
relationships…controlling the flow enables
organizations to run smoothly…the flow
necessitates the development of a whole
series of coping habits…’
(Kirkham, 2011, p.88)
Coping mechanisms
“…we used to spend hours with them in their
homes and you know you were really their
friend…you were their friend in the
end…but you’re so busy now…that
personal touch is lost…”
(Frances)
Suppressing emotion
‘…it can be incredibly stressful, can be
emotionally draining or the other way – an
absolute high!’
Focus group 4 First year 3-year course student
midwives. (Hunter, 2002).
• ‘It’s very difficult…we are looking at
people that have on-going emotional
problems…but it goes with the job’
• Interview 2 (Deery, 2003)
Obedient technicians
• Large centralised units can mean
becoming an obedient technician in order
to cope (Deery & Hunter, 2010)
• Crafting efficient , ‘one size fits all’
organisations does not facilitate the
development of meaningful relationships
(Sennett, 2008)
‘Coping’ or ‘re-enacting’
I went home and I sat in the chair for about
an hour and a half…just like
zombified…thinking about what had gone
on…and if I had done everything…
(Penny, community midwife in Deery,
2003, 2010)
Professional dissonance
• …trying to hold simultaneously two, often
conflicting, sets of values; the professional
values of midwifery in which the managers
have been educated and practised, and
the values of the target and star ratingdriven New NHS.
(Deery, Hughes & Kirkham, 2010)
Emotion work and emotional
intelligence
Given the evidence that midwifery is emotionally
demanding work, midwives need to develop
ways of working which acknowledge the
significance of feelings.
• This would increase the visibility of emotion
work AND facilitate debate about developing a
more ‘emotionally intelligent’ type of practice
(Hunter & Deery, 2005 ).
Emotional Intelligence
What is it….?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Knowing your emotions
Managing your own emotions
Motivating yourself
Recognising and understanding other
people’s emotions
5. Managing relationships, i.e. managing
the emotions of others
Emotional intelligence versus
IQ
• EI key to success in midwifery (i.e. relationships)
• EI is the ability to bring health care practitioners
together and motivate them
• EI is the trust to build productive relationships
• EI is the resilience to perform under pressure
• EI is the courage to make decisions
• EI is the strength to persevere through
adversity
Behaviours
Motives
Values
Thoughts
Attitudes
Feelings
Beliefs
Commitment
Life balance
Safety/care
Emotional Intelligence
What I see
What I do
SELF –
AWARENESS
SELFMANAGEMENT
SOCIAL
AWARENESS
RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT
PERSONAL
COMPETENCIES
SOCIAL
COMPETENCIES
Emotionally intelligent
midwifery
Clinically it was just lovely. I enjoyed every moment
because I’m happy without doctors, and I’m happy
making my own decisions, and I’m perfectly happy with
women who are birthing physiologically, and clinically it
was just my dream, it was my dream job.
(Deery et al. 2010, Midwife 1)
It’s like going to heaven being with midwives that work
the same way, who are enthusiastic. I felt this big cloud
has lifted!
(Caseload midwife, McCourt and Stevens, 2008)
Group work
• Five different scenarios requiring
emotionally intelligent responses;
– Telephone triage in latent phase (good and
bad scenario)
– Arrival at labour ward but still in latent phase
– First time to labour ward in established labour
– High risk woman in established labour
Demands on midwives at point
of admission
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Listening to the woman/positive language
Navigating the system
Developing empathy
Keying/writing information/summarise
Knowing about the issue in question
The environment
Summarising/repeating back
Successful ‘balancing’ and
calibration
• ‘People who successfully balance engagement
with detachment know what they can and cannot
change or control. They are sensitive to their
own emotional needs. They choose their level
of engagement based on what they know they
can handle at a particular time. People who
successfully balance engagement and
detachment understand the importance of selfcare’ (Carmack, 1997, p.142)
Behaviour and values
• Organisations are successful when
– strong values are held by all
– strong guiding vision
– the vision communicates what behaviour is
appropriate and what is not.
– values are widely shared across the
organisation and are reflected in the everyday
actions of employees at all levels
Final thoughts….
• “…in the day to day world no
intelligence is more important
than the interpersonal…”
• Gardner, H. & Hatch, T. (1989) Multiple intelligences go to school,
Educational Researcher, 18 (8): 4-10
Final thoughts….
• “I like to listen. I have learned a great
deal from listening carefully. Most
people never listen”
Ernest Hemmingway
Treat women and their partners
as you would like to be treated