BACKGROUND In the Netherlands, prenatal screening follows an opting in system and comprises two non-invasive tests: the combined test to screen for trisomy 21 at 12 weeks of gestation and the fetal anomaly scan to detect structural anomalies at 20 weeks. Midwives counsel about prenatal screening tests for congenital anomalies and they are increasingly having to counsel women from religious back...

Task shifting is defined as ‘‘the rational redistribution of tasks among health workforce teams. Specific tasks are moved, where appropriate, from more highly qualified health workers to health workers with shorter training and fewer qualifications, in order to make more efficient use of the available human resources for health.’’ It is becoming more commonly known as task sharing, a change int...

OBJECTIVE to explore, in-depth, the views of midwives working in maternity services about birth setting, models of care and philosophy of care. DESIGN an Appreciative Inquiry approach was adopted utilising focus group interviews as the method of data collection. SETTING 15 focus group interviews were conducted at 14 sites in England. PARTICIPANTS a purposive sample of 120 midwives and six...

BACKGROUND In Sweden, midwives play prominent supportive role in antenatal care by counselling and promoting healthy lifestyles. This study aimed to explore how Swedish midwives experience the counselling of pregnant women on physical activity, specifically focusing on facilitators and barriers during pregnancy. Also, addressing whether the midwives perceive that their own lifestyle and body sh...

Introduction Gender-based violence (GBV) can have devastating consequences for pregnancy because both mother and child are at risk. Midwives are in a strategic position to identify and empower pregnant women experiencing GBV; however, currently midwives in Jamaica are not required to screen for GBV, neither are they prepared to do so. Aim This study forms the baseline of a larger study designed...

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to provide insight into Dutch midwives' self-evaluation of prenatal counseling for anomaly screening in real life practice and, the degree of congruence of midwives' self-assessments with clients' perceptions and with observed performance. METHODS Counseling sessions were videotaped. We used the QUOTE(prenatal) questionnaire to have each midwife (N = 20) and her cli...

BACKGROUND Caring forms the core of nursing and midwifery. Despite caring being an important emotional aspect of midwifery and nursing, there are general public complaints about uncaring behaviour in midwifery. Therefore, there is a need to explore caring from midwives’ point of view with the hope of identifying solutions and recommendations for midwifery practice. Furthermore, the study aimed ...

Skilled birth attendance (SBA) and healthcare facility (HCF) delivery are effective means of reducing maternal mortality. However, their uptake remains low in many low-income countries. The present study utilized semi-structured interviews with 85 pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic in Akwatia, Ghana (May-July 2010) to better understand the barriers to SBA and HCF delivery through the ...