Midwifery continuity of care: the future

12 Midwifery continuity of care: the future image



Caroline Homer, Pat Brodie, Nicky Leap



Introduction 216

Reflecting on your own situation 217

Developing future midwives 217

Re-conceptualising maternity care for the future 218

Conclusion 219


Introduction


What lies ahead in developing and sustaining midwifery continuity of care? The need for vision, creativity and strategic thinking is brought home to us when considering the diversity of needs, choices, options, models, practitioners, opinions, beliefs, priorities, philosophies and uncertainties in modern maternity care. Clearly there is much to do, but there is an enormous amount of knowledge and skill out there as evidenced by many of the stories and experiences in this book. We hope you have found the chapters useful in helping you think through your specific context and issues, and addressing your own challenges.


Throughout this book there is evidence that midwifery continuity of care can result in improved outcomes and high levels of satisfaction for both women and midwives. We have suggested various ways in which midwifery continuity of care can be provided and, in doing so, have explored definitions and accepted understandings of different organisational frameworks. It is important to understand the context and environment when planning new midwifery continuity of care projects. Several authors have highlighted this, as has the need to include women who use maternity services in all phases of planning, implementation and evaluation.


The importance of building collaborative relationships with colleagues has been identified as a major factor when aiming for safe, supportive services for women and their families and for sustainability. This particularly applies to developing trusting and respectful inter-professional relationships with medical colleagues. Partnerships with colleagues in community settings are also vital when applying primary health care principles to the development of midwifery continuity of care, especially when addressing issues related to equity and access to services. Some fine examples of how this can work have been provided here.


In the wealth of stories provided by contributors from a number of different countries, we hope you will find ideas that can be adapted for your own context, whether you are practising in a small group practice or developing widespread changes in mainstream maternity service provision. The examples provided give an idea of the variety and diversity that exists in the provision of midwifery continuity of care.


The challenges and complexity of evaluating midwifery continuity of care have been addressed by several authors. Midwifery continuity of care is a complex intervention and, as such, simple evaluations may not always count the things that matter. Strategies and a framework for addressing issues have been highlighted. The ultimate sustainability of midwifery continuity of care will be measured by how acceptable, appropriate and beneficial this way of providing care is for midwives and those who work to support safe and effective care. Midwifery continuity of care needs to work well for women as well as midwives.



Reflecting on your own situation


Whether you are planning to establish a new midwifery continuity of care project or reviewing on your current model, taking the time to reflect on your situation is always helpful. The questions in Box 1 may be useful to reflect on what you already have or what you want to change.



Box 1 Questions to reflect on your situation


Related posts:

  1. Effective collaboration with medical colleagues: making it happen
  2. Understanding your context: preparing for change
  3. Midwifery continuity of care for specific communities
  4. Politics, policy and the press: crucial pieces in the maternity reform jigsaw

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Jun 18, 2016 | Posted by in MIDWIFERY | Comments Off on Midwifery continuity of care: the future

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