**2. Literature review**

Intimacy usually occurs between two people who influence each other's feelings and behaviour [1]. Pregnancy and childbirth have the potential for being intimate and emotionally charged

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experiences for all involved [2]. The model of intimacy as shown in Figure 1 shows the comprehensive conceptualization of intimacy that encompasses individual, interactional and relationship qualities [3].

**Figure 1.** The model of intimacy [1]

The majority of midwifery work involves intimate knowledge of another's body, which normally includes physical contact. Nevertheless, according to [2], contemporary midwifery work is much broader and has several key features:


In the literature, various terms have been used to describe intimate touch. Intimate physical touch is defined as involving 'inspection of, and possible physical contact with those parts of the body whose exposure can cause embarrassment to either the patient or the midwife' [4]. O' Lynn and Krautscheid [5] went into details and defined intimate touch as oriented touch to areas of a patient's body – genitalia, buttocks, perineum, inner thighs, lower abdomen and breasts, as well as other areas, depending upon the patient, nurse or midwife, that may produce feelings of discomfort, anxiety or fear. Women, during pregnancy, birth and postpartum, are often compelled in situations when several different health professionals, consciously or unawares, invade their intimate and personal sphere. Procedures like vaginal and rectal examinations, pubic shaving, enemas and breast palpations that are part of midwifery care can be a brutal invasion in a woman's personal and intimate space if not performed tactfully.

Midwives are dealing with healthy women experiencing a normal life event, but there is evidence from the literature that, for some women at least, giving birth is a sexual experience. All clinical settings, especially the labour ward, are an important and challenging learning area for midwifery students because it is where the students learn in authentic complex situations and in intimate situations [6]. It is crucial to realize that health care professionals need to restore the sense of meaning and stop sleep walking through the professional world. They need to recognize that there is a choice of how to behave and choose excellence over ambivalence in every interaction [7].

Many midwifery students enter midwifery with a sense of awe and wonder, searching for meaning in their lives. Every one of them needs to be encouraged to engage with the powerful search for sense of meaning which brought them to midwifery study [7]. Midwifery practice is an integral part of midwifery education, in which clinical mentors play an important role. Mentors' attitudes, experience and knowledge are influences [8]. Therefore, midwives need to stop sleepwalking through their professional life, wake up and recognize that within every interaction, there is a choice of how to behave and an option to choose excellence over ambivalence [7]. The fact is that clinical mentors influence student midwives while they are on clinical practice and that quality care is more than a set of processes. As Nettleton and Brail [9] pointed out, considerable attention has been given to the benefits of mentorship, but equally, poor mentorship can bring long- lasting consequences for those being mentored. Students who are generally novices in age, social maturity and social responsibility struggle to take on the professional responsibility of providing intimate care to strangers [10]. As Walker and Davis [11] found out, the role of mentors who teach and work with midwifery students on the topic of sexual health is very important, as they help them give confidence when working in this area.
