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Midwifery in the 21st century: are students prepared for the challenge?

Power, A. (2016) Midwifery in the 21st century: are students prepared for the challenge? British Journal of Midwifery. 24(1) 0969-4900.

Item Type: Article
Abstract: The role of the midwife is emotionally and physically challenging: birth rates are increasing, there are staff shortages and increasingly more complex cases for which to coordinate care (Royal College of Midwives (RCM), 2015). There are also professional and policy requirements to be met, all in the context of practising in line with our core value of being ‘with woman’ and providing her with individualised, highquality, evidence-based care. Such demands drive some midwives to leave the profession, citing stress, burnout, compassion fatigue and emotional exhaustion as causes (Curtis et al, 2006). Others develop strategies to cope with the complex and varied stressors of the role; they demonstrate resilience. The future of maternity services in the UK is dependent on the retention of resilient midwives, so it is important that the characteristics are explored to ascertain whether resilience is a personal trait or one that can be learned. In 2013, the RCM funded the first research project in the UK to investigate resilience in midwifery (Hunter and Warren, 2013). This article will provide an overview of the cinical, professional and political stressors qualified midwives have to deal with on a daily basis in order to understand the environment student midwives are exposed to when working under the tutelage of their midwife mentor. It will consider the relevance of Hunter and Warren’s (2013) findings in the context of midwifery pre-registration education, as the future of midwifery practice in the UK depends on the recruitment, retention and successful qualification of student midwives who are adequately prepared to cope with the complex emotional and physical demands of the profession.
Subjects: R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA773 Personal health and hygiene > RA785 Stress management. Relaxation
R Medicine > RG Gynecology and obstetrics > RG950 Midwifery
Creators: Power, Alison
Publisher: MA Healthcare Ltd.
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Health & Society > Midwifery
Faculties > Faculty of Health & Society > Midwifery
Date: 19 January 2016
Date Type: Published Online
Journal or Publication Title: British Journal of Midwifery
Volume: 24
Number: 1
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2016.24.1.66
ISSN: 0969-4900
Status: Published / Disseminated
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/8583

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