Midwives provide advice, care and support for women, their partners and families before, during and after childbirth. They help women make their own decisions about the care and services they access. They care for new born children, providing health education and parenting support for the first 28 days, after which care transfers to a health visitor.
Midwives are personally responsible for the health of both mother and child and only refer to obstetricians if there are medical complications. They work in multidisciplinary teams in both hospital and increasingly, community healthcare settings.
Midwifery can be split into 3 areas which are taken care of in 3 separate clinics:
Antenatal
Antenatal care monitors health during pregnancy, as well as the health and development of the baby. It can help predict possible problems with pregnancy or birth, so action can be taken to avoid or treat them. There are a variety of places where you can receive antenatal care, such as, at the hospital, at a GP surgery, from community midwives at a health centre and in the patient’s home.
Delivery
This part of care is also known as intrapartum care. It involves the midwives one-to-one care a few weeks before and during childbirth. The midwife will gives support during labour and ensure the birth is as comfortable as possible, following the patients birthing plan, which the midwife will devise with the mother to be.
Postnatal
Postnatal is the period beginning immediately after the birth of a child and extending for about six weeks. Biologically, it is the time after birth, a time in which the mother’s body, including hormone levels and uterus size, returns to pre-pregnancy conditions. The midwife will assess the mother’s physical and psychological welfare, treating and advising where necessary. They often deal with issues like depression, breast feeding, bladder retention and infection and ensuring the patient, partner and family is equipped and capable of taking care of the new born.
In their day to day role, midwives would normally carry out the following tasks:
- Dispensing antenatal advice on eating and lifestyle
- Performing antenatal check-ups
- Explaining the process of giving birth, controlling breathing, contractions and warning signs
- Checking on the position of the baby during childbirth
- Administering pain relief to the mother where necessary
- Liaising with the doctor over any developing complications
- Performing minor surgery and inserting stitches afterwards
- Delivering the baby
- Checking on the health of mother and baby in the first few weeks after birth
- Giving advice and checking on their routine
The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the International Federation of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO), and the World Health Organisations (WHO) have adopted the following definition of a midwife:
“A midwife is a person who, having been regularly admitted to a midwifery educational programme, duly recognised in the country in which it is located, has successfully completed the prescribed course of studies in midwifery and has acquired the requisite qualifications to be registered and/or legally licensed to practise midwifery.”
“She must be able to give the necessary supervision, care and advice to women during pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period, to conduct deliveries on her own responsibility and to care for the new-born and the infant. This care includes preventative measures, the detection of abnormal conditions in mother and child, the procurement of medical assistance and the execution of emergency measures in the absence of medical help. She has an important task in health counselling and education, not only for the women, but also within the family and the community. The work should involve antenatal education and preparation for parenthood and extend to certain areas of gynaecology, family planning and child care. She may practise in hospitals, clinics, health units, domiciliary conditions or in any other service.”
| FULL TEXT OPTIONS, PLEASE SELECT | ||||
 
|
