Midwifery Practice: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?

Humanised care and a change in practice in a hospital in Benin

“…There are opportunities to learn the ways to handle emergency cases, but there are very a few opportunities to learn the normal course of pregnancy, labour, and delivery. Practice of humanised care provides good opportunities to midwives in resource-limited countries to refresh their knowledge and skill in providing care during normal pregnancy and delivery, and to reflect on their professional value, described by Barger (2005) as 'an authentic guardian of birth as a natural and physiological phenomenon of women's life.' Walsh (2006) showed that professionals who provide humanised birth care had more job satisfaction at a birth centre in the UK.…”

“…The status and roles of midwives are different in each country, but midwifery care is an essential component of humanised care (Page, 2001). Literature has shown beneficial physiological and psychological outcomes for women who experienced care provided by midwives during pregnancy and childbirth (Hunter, 2002;Barger, 2005). There have been arguments about the efficacy of the existing regime of hospital-based, systematic, and medicalised maternal and newborn care.…”

Survey of Connecticut Nurse‐Midwives

“…No information was found regarding national averages for certain types of appointments by midwives or obstetrician/gynecologists, but this survey found large ranges for each type of appointment. Appointment length is important because time is required for midwives to use the midwifery model of care to educate and empower women to make their own health care choices 23,24 . Effective counseling has been shown to improve compliance with taking birth control pills 25 and longer visits should offer more opportunities for effective counseling on contraception and other complex health topics, especially with all that women's health care providers are expected to cover during well‐woman 26,27 and obstetric 28–32 visits.…”

Cultural Aspects in the Care of the Orthodox Jewish Woman

“…Modern midwifery defines itself through the emphasis of the motto, “Listen to Women.” 2 If all women and all situations were the same, this phrase would be superfluous. As Barger 2 noted, “long before the term ‘cultural competence’ came into general usage, nurse‐midwives were publishing articles about the need to understand the background and culture of their clients.” Cultural proficiency is an essential component of competent care.…”

“…Modern midwifery defines itself through the emphasis of the motto, “Listen to Women.” 2 If all women and all situations were the same, this phrase would be superfluous. As Barger 2 noted, “long before the term ‘cultural competence’ came into general usage, nurse‐midwives were publishing articles about the need to understand the background and culture of their clients.” Cultural proficiency is an essential component of competent care. Although the midwife may not be proficient in all of the many cultures she encounters, 3 acquiring familiarity with the key aspects of cultural variances is necessary in order for the midwife to relate appropriately to a woman from another culture.…”