Fundamentals of Midwifery

A Textbook for Students

Louise Lewis

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781118528020
• eBook ISBN: 9781118528075
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Nursing

Fundamentals of Midwifery: A Textbook for Students makes the subject of midwifery accessible, informative and motivating, ensuring that it is an essential text for the aspiring midwife!

This resource brings together knowledge from a collection of clinical experts and experienced academics to support your learning and prepare you for the challenges faced in contemporary midwifery healthcare. It presents you with the 'must-have' information that you need concerning both the theoretical and practical aspects of what it means to be a midwife. With extensive full colour illustrations throughout, as well as activities and scenarios, this user-friendly textbook will support you throughout your entire education programme. Fundamentals of Midwifery is essential reading for all pre-registration student midwives, as well as newly qualified midwives.

KEY FEATURES:

• Broad and comprehensive in scope, with chapters on: team working; antenatal care, intrapartum and postnatal care; infant feeding; public health and health promotion; perinatal mental health; complementary therapies; pharmacology and medicines management; and emergencies.

• Interactive and student-friendly in approach, with activities throughout.

• Brings together professional and clinical topics in one user-friendly book.

• Ties in with the latest NMC Standards for pre-registration midwifery education.

• Supported by an online resource centre featuring interactive multiple-choice questions, additional scenarios and activities, and links to further reading.

Chapter 1
To Be a Midwife

Nicky Clark

University of Hull, Hull, UK

Carol Paeglis

Former Supervisor of Midwives and Local Supervising Authority Midwifery Officer, Yorkshire and the Humber, UK

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Learning Outcomes

By the end of this chapter the reader will be able to:

• understand how midwifery has evolved as a profession
• examine how midwifery as a profession is regulated in the united kingdom
• identify the support processes available to student midwives undertaking a pre-registration midwifery programme
• be cognisant of the demands working within the midwifery profession
• identify factors that can facilitate successful course completion.

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Introduction

Midwifery is a dynamic profession that is responsive to change. In recent years, the social, economic and technological forces have altered the context of midwifery significantly. The scale of healthcare provision has changed greatly; philosophies and values have been adjusted and the restructuring of healthcare provision has been dramatic. Public expectation regarding involvement in care and opportunities for informed choice has increased; consequently women and their babies expect more than ever before to be partners in the care process.

Midwives provide high-quality professional care to women and their families, acting autonomously, accountably and responsibly within their sphere of practice. This chapter aims to explore the development of midwifery and its professional regulation with the subsequent evolution of the role and responsibilities of a midwife. The quality of midwifery education and the supervision of midwifery will also be examined.

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Activity 1.1

Ask yourself why you wanted to become a midwife. It will be useful to revisit this as you progress on your programme. At difficult times within your programme these statements can be very helpful.

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To be a midwife is to understand the role and responsibilities of being a midwife. The midwifery profession is recognised globally and is defined by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) (2011) as:

…A midwife is a person who has successfully completed a midwifery education programme that is duly recognized in the country where it is located and that is based on the ICM Essential Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice and the framework of the ICM Global Standards for Midwifery Education; who has acquired the requisite qualifications to be registered and/or legally licensed to practice midwifery and use the title ‘midwife’; and who demonstrates competency in the practice of midwifery…

This definition is complex; therefore the professional status and regulation of midwifery nationally and internationally will now be clarified.

The Professional Status and Regulation of Midwifery

Historically the professional status of midwifery in England and Wales began with The Midwives Act 1902. This enabled the state enrolment of midwives and established the Central Midwives Board (CMB) for England and Wales. The Midwives Institute was established in the 1880s and was instrumental in the application of the Midwives Act. The Midwives Institute became known as the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) in 1941. All practising midwives were enrolled with the CMB by 1910. A Midwives Act was not passed in Scotland until 1915, which built on the experience of the CMB for England and Wales when setting up the CMB for Scotland.

The CMB produced an annual Roll of Midwives, which was a list of qualified midwives, indicating which were practising. The CMB was independent from nursing, although many midwives were nurses. In 1983 the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) replaced the General Nursing Council (Nursing) and the CMB (Midwifery), which brought the nursing, and midwifery records together for the first time. The Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) was established under the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (‘the order’) (SI:2002/253) and came into being on 1 April 2002, abolishing the UKCC and its four National Boards.

Midwifery, as a profession is recognised globally, although there are wide variations in education and scope of practice between the different continents. Currently, in the United Kingdom, the NMC is the nursing and midwifery regulator for England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Islands. The aims of the NMC are outlined in Box 1.1.

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Box 1.1 Aims of the NMC

• Exist to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the public.
• Set standards of education, training, conduct and performance so that nurses and midwives can deliver high quality healthcare consistently throughout their careers.
• Ensure that nurses and midwives keep their skills and knowledge up to date and uphold the professional standards.
• Have clear and transparent processes to investigate nurses and midwives who fall short of the standards.

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The NMC

The NMC are governed by legislation approved by the Houses of Parliament and this is detailed in what is known as the Statutory Instruments (SIs). SIs allow an Act of Parliament to be brought into force or altered. The Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 253 is The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001, and replaced the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1997.

The main objective of the NMC in exercising its functions under The Order is to safeguard the health and wellbeing of persons using or needing the services of registrants. The principal functions of the Council are to establish from time to time standards of education, training, conduct and performance for nurses and midwives and to ensure the maintenance of those standards.

Part VIII of the Nursing and Midwifery Order is specific to Midwifery and is concerned with:

• The Midwifery Committee.
• Rules as to midwifery practice.
• Local supervision of midwives.

Since 1 December 2012, following the Health and Social Care Act (2012) the NMC has been regulated by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA). The PSA replaced the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE). The PSA's function is to ensure that the NMC and other healthcare regulators promote the best interests of patients and the public and ensure consistency across the professions (Yearley and Dawson-Goodey 2014).

European Union

The UK becam...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Titles of Related Interest
• Website
• Title page
• Copyright page
• About the Series
• Contributors
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• How to Use Your Textbook
• About the Companion Website
• Chapter 1: To Be a Midwife
• Chapter 2: Team Working
• Chapter 3: Sociology Applied to Maternity Care
• Chapter 4: Psychology Applied to Maternity Care
• Chapter 5: Parenthood
• Chapter 6: Antenatal midwifery care
• Chapter 7: Intrapartum Midwifery Care
• Chapter 8: Postnatal Midwifery Care
• Chapter 9: Care of the Newborn
• Chapter 10: Infant Feeding
• Chapter 11: Public Health and Health Promotion
• Chapter 12: Contraception and Family Planning
• Chapter 13: Perinatal Mental Health
• Chapter 14: Complementary and Alternative Medicines Applied to Maternity Care
• Chapter 15: Pharmacology and Medicines Management
• Chapter 16: Emergencies in Midwifery
• Chapter 17: Bereavement and Loss
• Answers
• Index
• End User License Agreement