Abstract:

Background: Midwifery is a profession that integrates scientific, artistic, and ethical values at the most critical moments of a life. It is of importance how the concepts of “midwife” and “midwifery” are perceived by future health professionals. In this context, the study aims to uncover through metaphors the midwifery students’ perceptions of the concepts “midwife” and “midwifery” and the standing of these concepts in their semantic world. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in the pattern of qualitative research and phenomenolo-gy. Study group consisted of the students at the Department of Midwifery, Mardin Artuklu University in the spring term of the academic year 2021-2022. The data was obtained through each student completing the sentence “Midwife/midwifery is like/looks like … Because …”. 89 students volunteered to participate in the study. The data was analysed through content analysis. Results: According to the study results, students generated 39 different metaphors for midwife and 53 for midwifery. Metaphors for midwife are grouped under six conceptual themes, namely “blessed”, “a member of the family”, “guide”, “strong”, “helpful”, and “versatile”. Metaphors for midwifery are explained under seven themes, namely “guiding”, “spiritual”, “needed”, “ancient”, “versatile”, manager and protector" and "promising". Conclusions: Since midwifery is a fundamental discipline in improving maternal and infant health, students’ perceptions of midwife and midwifery are crucial. Key Words: Metaphor, midwife, midwifery, midwifery students