The earliest research into women’s priorities for care during labour was by Lesser and Keane in 1956 in the US. In total, 66 women were interviewed in mid-pregnancy and then postnatally about what they expected from nurses during labour. These women identified the need to be sustained by another human being through nursing presence, to have relief from pain, to have a safe outcome, to have their attitudes and beliefs accepted and to receive bodily care (Lesser and Keane, 1956).