PRIVACY OR HELP - THE USE OF CURTAIN POSITIONING STRATEGIES WITHIN THE MATERNITY WARD ENVIRONMENT AS A MEANS OF ACHIEVING AND MAINTAINING PRIVACY, OR AS A FORM OF SIGNALING TO PEERS AND PROFESSIONALS IN AN ATTEMPT TO SEEK INFORMATION OR SUPPORT

Midwives in the local maternity unit had noted that the interactions b etween women within the ward environment had started to decline. Women were spending long periods of time behind curtains drawn around their bed space. The staff hypothesized that this was because women desired the privacy of a single room, The literature review revealed a lack o f understanding of the concept of privacy within a ward environment fr om a nursing or midwifery perspective. The review therefore, concentra ted on the information offered by the fields of psychology and sociolo gy. This study aimed to observe the methods women use to maintain or p reserve their privacy within the ward environment. An ethnographic app roach was used incorporating use of documentary evidence, participant observation and discussion, field maps and field notes. The findings o f this study centred around the use of curtain positioning, subsequent ly referred to as 'signalling'. The strategies employed by women inclu ded complete closure for total withdrawal, semi-closure for seeking in formation or support, and partial closure of curtains around the indiv idual's bed space for periods of solitude or rest. The findings have i mplications for both general and maternity hospital wards but in parti cular, wards within maternity units that incorporate women with mixed methods of infant feeding, or women in labour mixed with either postna tal or antenatal women.