Show Notes
Series 19 - Episode 9: Where next for Midwifery? Ockenden & Amos round up
Maternity & Midwifery are the subject two significant reports which have huge implications for the choices for women and the shape of the profession.
Students can’t get jobs, experienced midwives are retiring and leaving, education is trapped in university financial crisis and now the basic roles and education of the profession are being questioned, with calls to end direct entry to graduate courses.
In less than a decade the objective of Better Births and Continuity of Care seem further away than ever, the statistics for maternal deaths are getting worse, not better, and the objective of halving stillbirths remains far away. We now have revelations of huge failing in maternity services, disrespect and insensitive treatment of women in labour, unprofessional behaviour among colleagues and accusations of bullying of women and junior staff.
Is this a complete picture of what is happening and will the proposed solutions make the difference expected?
Hosted by: Neil Stewart
Contributions from: Neil Stewart, Editorial Director, MATFLIX/ Maternity & Midwifery Forum Nicky Clark, Freelance Midwifery Educationalist; former LME, University of Hull
More from The Maternity & Midwifery Hour
Series 20 - Episode 6: The way forward for Midwifery and Maternity Services?
Most of us will know that our supermarket bills are increasing due to the rising cost of living and this might mean that we have to cut out a treat or two. But for some families, with a new baby, the rising cost of infant formula is having a major impact on their well-being, forcing parents to reduce their own food intake, take strategies which may impact on their baby’s health, or even getting into debt, to ensure their babies are fed and cared for.
While professional frameworks uphold compassionate care, growing global evidence indicates that disrespectful and abusive care remains a persistent systemic issue within maternity services worldwide.
Using research and evidence has become an important part of the midwife’s toolbox and, for some midwives, this moves beyond, to querying aspects of their practice, learning or management and towards a journey towards engaging in research themselves.
Series 20 - Episode 2: Birth, Safety and Beyond: Understanding Women’s Experiences