Preparing midwifery students to provide continuity of care

Continuity of midwifery care provides superior maternal and neonatal outcomes (Sandall et al., 2016). Access to continuity of care models is limited, both for women and for midwifery students who have the opportunity to gain direct experience of such models. There is also concern that placing students in a continuity of care model rather than a standard hospital model of care may reduce their learning.

New research from Professor Kathleen Baird, Ms Carolyn Hastie, Ms Paula Stanton and Emeritus Professor Jenny Gamble of the Transforming Maternity Care Collaborative focussed on the learning experiences of students who complete an extended placement in a midwifery group practice providing continuity of care at one university (Baird et al., 2021). Final year midwifery students were able to elect to take part in a six-month placement in a midwifery group practice team. The research team conducted focus group interviews to explore the experiences of fifteen students who had taken part in the placement.

Students reported that their placement in the midwifery group practice was the highlight of their degree and was not as demanding as they had anticipated. Being able to develop skills in providing relationship-based care was highly valued by students and was enabled and supported by the midwives they were working with. The culture of the midwifery group practice in which students were placed provided a supportive environment were students learned to take care of themselves and their team members, and to collaborate with other members of the team. Students felt that they were valued members of the team. Returning back to the hospital shift-based system was challenging for most students. They were aware of a loss of autonomy and a faster pace of care. Some were supported well in this transition, while others were criticised for their choice to spend time in the midwifery group practice.

This research enables midwifery educators to feel confident that prolonged immersive student placements in midwifery continuity of care models provides positive learning experiences. The students described feeling and acting like a “real midwife” during their placement, with six being adamant that they would apply for a position in a midwifery group practice immediately after graduation. Increased access to midwifery continuity of care models for women would provide more opportunities for midwifery students to gain experience of working in this model.

 

Baird, K., Hastie, C. R., Stanton, P., & Gamble, J. (2021). Learning to be a midwife: Midwifery students’ experiences of an extended placement within a midwifery group practice. Women and Birth. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2021.01.002

 

Sandall, J., Soltani, H., Gates, S., Shennan, A., & Devane, D. (2016, Apr 28). Midwife-led continuity models versus other models of care for childbearing women. [Meta-Analysis]. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 4(11), CD004667. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD004667.pub5

 

This précis of our research has been reproduced from the Transforming Maternity Care Collaborative website