18.9 The consequence of the rising caesarean section rate for midwifery
The Maternity & Midwifery HourShow Notes
The rising caesarean section rate across the UK and globally is reshaping maternity care, with significant implications for midwifery practice, education and workforce development.
This session will explore how increasing surgical birth rates impact student learning opportunities, skill acquisition, confidence in physiological birth, and the future role of the midwife. We will consider the balance between supporting safe operative birth and maintaining expertise in normal birth, as well as the broader system pressures influencing these trends.
Designed for midwives, student midwives, educators, maternity leaders and policymakers, this event offers space for critical reflection, shared learning and constructive discussion about how midwifery education can adapt while protecting the core philosophy of the profession.
Join us for an important conversation about safeguarding midwifery skills in a changing maternity landscape.
Hosted by: Sue Macdonald
Contributions from: Nicky Clark, Freelance Midwifery Educationalist; former LME, University of Hull
More from The Maternity & Midwifery Hour
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
Series 20 - Episode 1: The Midwifery Student Jobs Crisis