'Continuity of carer undoubtedly improves care for women’

The Better Births National Maternity Review for England and The Best Start review in Scotland recommend that continuity of carer be used as the central model of care in both countries.

How wonderful that the UK recognises the value and importance of midwifery care for the health and wellbeing of all childbearing women and their infants.

Photo sourced from generationsmidwifery.ca

In response, the Royal College of Midwives have developed an online module designed to help midwives and maternity support workers "develop a better understanding about continuity of carer in midwifery.


Questions explored in the RCM’s new i-learn module of midwifery continuity of carer include;

• What is the evidence that continuity improves outcomes?
• What is the proposed model of care?
• What would the working week of a continuity midwife look like?
•  What do we need to have in place to make continuity work for midwives and women?

In addition to this introductory online learning resource the RCM is currently hosting a series of ‘continuity of carer’ workshops across the UK and  another online learning resource is in development which  will focus on practical strategies for scale up and roll out later in the year."

I feel excited and inspired to see this recognition of midwifery in the UK.  We need to work together to ensure all women and their families have relationship-based continuity of midwifery care as the 'norm' - the bedrock of their maternity care.  The evidence is clear that when women have continuity of midwifery care, along with appropriate medical care as required by any associated medical condition and whatever their risk status, their satisfaction with their birth experience goes up, premature birth rates go down, breastfeeding rates go up, intervention rates go down and women and their infants emerge from the childbearing experience healthier, happier and more connected; women feel more in control, are informed and know what to expect with parenting their newborn/s.

Way to go UK!

This blog post has been reposted from Olvindablog - on postmodern midwifery and women

It's a brilliant post about normal birth and why it is important and how to support it.

Let's facilitate physiology and each woman's Unique Normality (quotes below from the blogpost by Oli).

"Unique Normality “takes account of each woman’s labour in the context of her pregnancy, her family clinical, psychosocial and emotional history and the story of her life. It sees birth as an ‘ordinary drama’ — not as a crisis, and not as a routine event, but as a one-off exciting event, full of possibility. In this approach, the task of the midwife is to maximize the possibility of normal birth, accepting that it will not always happen. Maximizing the possibility means opening up options to women, rather than closing down their expectations, and working with colleagues including peers, [supervisors of midwives], risk managers, obstetricians, neonatologists, and anaesthetists to see each labour as an opportunity for personal growth and development rather than a threat of complaint and litigation.” (Downe, 2006)"

"Evidence demonstrates that public health measures to address health inequalities, and more women choosing to access midwife-led care, with continuity of carer, are key to a safer system with better outcomes for women and babies (Sandall et al, 2016; Guardian, 2015)."

The post was written by Oli, a UK midwife, in response to:

"a deluge of disinformation and inflammatory, inaccurate and non-evidence-based reporting on the ‘dangers of normal birth’, from which women need protecting, and the so-called ‘cult’ and ‘overpursuit’ of normality. Midwives were supposedly backpedaling and backing down on normal birth".

The link to the full post is here:

Come back, Ten Top Tips! Normal birth needs you

 Well done Oli! 

Motherhood as a Rite of Passage

This fascinating topic was posted on the Perceptions of Pregnancy Blog today - follow the link in the title below to read it on that site. I'm interested in your thoughts about this idea - you can also leave your thoughts on the Perception of Pregnancy Blog, I'm sure they'd love to hear from you.

via Motherhood as rite of passage

"Liminality “refers to the transitional space in between well defined structures” and is a process people pass through to achieve a new status (Boland & Griffin 2015, p. 39) (1). Victor Turner describes how “liminal entities are neither here nor there; they are betwixt and between (…)” (1969, p. 359) (2). This caused me to think about women as, traditionally, childbirth has been regarded as the full achievement of womanhood (Russo 1979), and is still acknowledged as a key life event (3). While this growth is available to women who become mothers, what happens to women who, by choice or circumstances, do not do so? Is it possible to have other liminal experiences or are they stuck due to the lack of legitimized alternatives?"

 

Such important questions raised by this author.  What do you think?

Birth on My Terms Project - Invitation to Contribute

This post is on behalf of Theresa Morris, lead researcher for the Birth on My Terms Project

Were you coerced, forced or pressured to have a procedure(s) during labor and birth?

Such procedures may include: epidural, episiotomy, induction of labor, augmentation of contractions, IV medication or fluids, cesarean section, Pitocin, antibiotics or other medications, electronic monitoring, movement or lack of movement, or pushing position.

If so, we would be interested in learning about your experience.

We are conducting a study that examines the experiences of women who have been forced or coerced to have a procedure, including cesarean sections, during labor or birth. 

If you have had such an experience and are willing to share your experience, please click on the link at the bottom of this post. You will be directed to our secure and confidential survey site. 

The survey will include questions about you, your reproductive history and questions about the pregnancy, labor, and birth that involved a forced or coerced procedure(s). Participants will also be asked about any consequences of having the forced or coerced procedure. 

Completion of the survey is expected to take about 30 minutes. 

Participants names will not be used in any publication of results. 

For more information, contact Theresa Morris, Associate Professor of Sociology, (979) 862-3193; BirthOnMyTerms@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/BirthOnMyTerms
http://sociology.tamu.edu/morris-theresa/

IRB NUMBER: IRB2016-0084D; IRB EXPIRATION DATE: 12/01/2017.

Survey Link: https://tamu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0HeWuF8x3FLKX41