Commentary — Chronic Moral Distress Among Childbirth Educators: Is There a Cure?

Abstract

Childbirth educators who express frustration with the perceived lack of power in their practice may be suffering from moral distress. Although the impact of moral distress has not been thoroughly explored among health-care professionals, the topic is emerging as an important ethical concept. In this article, the concept of moral distress is explored, and suggestions are made for moving from moral distress to moral action.

Moral distress in nursing

“…69 Second, nurses can feel constrained in following the most ethical path by legal restrictions 17,52 and more specifically by rules around confidentiality 19,31 or Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) policy. 19 Third, the nurse’s capacity to do what is right and good is compromised by the vested interests of third parties 70 to include directives from funding bodies 42 and interagency conflict. 50…”

“…33 Perhaps radically, the nurse is even encouraged to lobby for resource funding, 26 engage in political action 43 or be prepared to leave the profession. 70…”

Moral distress and the Australian aged care worker: A mixed methods study

“…Secondly, nurses can feel constrained in following the most ethical path by legal restrictions (Hanna, 2005;Laabs, 2005) and more specifically by rules around confidentiality (Laabs, 2007;Solum & Schaffer, 2003) or Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) policy (Solum & Schaffer, 2003). Thirdly, the nurse's capacity to do what is right and good is compromised by the vested interests of third parties (Curl, 2009) to include directives from funding bodies (Pendry, 2007) and interagency conflict (Meaney, 2002b).…”

“…Others propose that nurses engage in critical selfreflection (conscious reflexivity) as a self-improvement strategy to facilitate personal growth and coping (Hanna, 2005), cultivate coping skills (Rice et al, 2008), or explore the role emotions play in moral decision making (Krishnasamy, 1999). Perhaps radically, the nurse is even encouraged to lobby for resource funding (Corley & Minick, 2002), engage in political action (Torjuul & Sorlie, 2006), or be prepared to leave the profession (Curl, 2009).…”

“…Finally the nurse's capacity to do what is right and good is compromised by the vested interests of third parties (Curl, 2009), directives from funding bodies (Pendry, 2007) and at times interagency conflict (Meaney, 2002b).…”