Background:
Childbirth may be a vulnerable experience, especially for women with prior trauma. Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) provides a framework to ensure safety, dignity, and empowerment in maternity care, yet its application in midwifery practice remains underexplored.

Aim and objectives:
This phenomenological inquiry explores midwives' experiences of TIC in birth settings and how they conceptualize this paradigm in their clinical practice, aiming to contribute to the development of culturally sensitive trauma approaches and highlight the importance of cultural context in maternity care.

Method:
Using an interpretative phenomenological approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 midwives working in public maternity units in Turkey (April-August 2025). Data were analyzed using Braun & Clarke's thematic analysis.

Results:
Four themes emerged: 1. Building Safe Spaces in Cultural Context and Dignity-Preserving Practices. 2. Cognitive-Emotional Empowerment and Autonomy-Supporting Communication Strategies. 3. Knowledge-Based Therapeutic Approaches in Transforming Traumatic Experiences. 4. Systemic Approaches and Professional Reflection in Complex Trauma Cases. Midwives highlighted the importance of cultural sensitivity, psychosocial safety, autonomy-supportive communication, non-pharmacological support methods, and interdisciplinary collaboration in cases of trauma.

Conclusion:
The findings demonstrate that trauma-informed care can be effectively adapted to cultural contexts, with Turkish midwives’ practices illustrating how universal principles of maternity care can be integrated with local values. The empowerment strategies and non-pharmacological support methods employed by midwives may serve as inspiration for practitioners working across diverse cultural settings. Furthermore, the study underscores the pressing need for enhanced training in the care of sexual trauma survivors, as well as greater institutional support for the implementation of trauma-informed care.