Research Methods And Methodologies For Midwifery Practice

Providing an effective care and support to the patient and for their babies during labour

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2007) Intrapartum guidelines state that during the first stage of labour women should be encouraged to adopt the position they feel most comfortable in. This is what the student was trying to encourage even though her mentor did not.There are various positions the woman can adopt in labour which are generally grouped into upright and recumbent. The positions classed as upright are; standing, walking, kneeling, squatting, on all fours and sitting, and the recumbent position could include; supine, lithotomy, semi-recumbent or side lying (Johnson and Taylor, 2011). The upright position appeared to be more beneficial in Sarah’s case and the author wants to determine if this is always the case. It is evident that sometimes there will be constraints such as continuous fetal monitoring but it is important that the midwife does

The assignment will be written in the style of the British Journal of Midwifery (BJM), the abstract is incorporated into this introduction and Harvard 2014 will be used for the referencing style.

The midwife’s role in a woman’s pregnancy first begins with antenatal care. The physical environment should not alter the midwife’s performance of duties as the focus should

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008) state in their code of conduct state that nursing and midwifery care must be evidence or best practise based. Therefore it is essential that students are able to analyse and critique research papers in order to determine the validity of the study and to apply theories to practise.

This essay demonstrates significant factors, a midwife and the women may face within Australian public hospitals. As a midwife the key skills are understanding of what supports and impacts the normal physiological process of labour and birth. This essay will discuss two influencing factors that have a negative effect on the normal progress of labour and birth. This will be seen, firstly by discussing the cultural and environmental impacts of labour and birth. Then, examining how the midwife may best support and facilitate the adverse effects of normal physiological process. This essay also discusses a positive labour and birth environment within the Australian standard model of care.

Over the years birthing methods have changed a great deal. When technology wasn’t so advanced there was only one method of giving birth, vaginally non-medicated. However, in today’s society there are now more than one method of giving birth. In fact, there are three methods: Non-medicated vaginal delivery, medicated vaginal delivery and cesarean delivery, also known as c-section. In the cesarean delivery there is not much to prepare for before the operation, except maybe the procedure of the operation. A few things that will be discussed are: the process of cesarean delivery, reasons for this birthing method and a few reasons for why this birthing method is used. Also a question that many women have is whether or not they can vaginally

Childbirth can be described as one of the most rewarding and also painful experiences in a woman’s life. Most women choose some type of method to ease pain, however, there has been a lot of controversy over with pain management method is the most effective. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), In 2013, there were 3,932,181 births recorded in the United States, 32.7% of those births were surgical procedures. In 2012, 1.36% of recorded births occurred out-of-hospital, meaning these births took place mostly in homes or birthing centers. Without the option of medicine that a hospital provides, how were these women able to manage their pain during labor and delivery. There are many different methods for easing pain during childbirth, some methods involve the use of medicine and surgery, and others include natural techniques, such as hypnosis, Lamaze, and many others. It is a personal preference of the parents over which method is right for the needs of the mother and child. This can be an overwhelming decision for new parents to make because they have to take into consideration the safety of the mother and child, pain management for the mother and desire for medical involvement.

As the recommendation has been established as best practice this chapter will propose a clinical audit to review the extent to which the recommendation is applied in practice. Practitioners have a responsibility to continually improve their standards of care (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2010). Clinical audits are a valuable tool for professionals to monitor their current practice and promote improvements in care (Benjamin, 2008).

The author is a nurse in a level two trauma facility in a community of approximately fifty thousand people in Oregon. The community is a college-town surrounded by a large agricultural area. There is a minimal ethnic diversity within the community. The diversity present occurs mainly from internationally students and faculty from the college. There is a growing population of women who desire low interventional births in the community. The author has worked on the labor and delivery unit of the hospital for the last 14 years. The hospital is the only one in the area to offer trial of labor services to women who have previously undergone a cesarean section. The unit on average experiences around 1000 deliveries annually.

It is important to understand why research within the nursing profession is essential. Amongst healthcare workers worldwide nurses are the largest professional group. Within the UK nurses and midwives represent the largest work force within the NHS. They are also the profession that has the most person to person contact with patients. As the decisions and actions that nurses make affect the lives of the whole population, it makes sense that nursing practice should be based on evidence (Parahoo 2006). Nurses are expected to deliver competent, high quality care in a compassionate but also cost effective manner. To accomplish these goals, nurses continually need to access and evaluate new information and incorporate this into their clinical decision making (Polit and Beck 2010).

For almost all of the previous 25 years roughly, the knowledge of pregnancy, labor, and delivery has changed little for some women. But change is arriving to the most traditional establishing, the hospital.

Critique of Borders et al.’s Study (2013) “Midwives’ Verbal Support of Nulliparous Women in Second-Stage Labor”

This essay will first describe partnership and how a midwife working in the continuity of care model develops and maintains it. Secondly, this essay will describe what a postnatal abdominal palpation is, why it is done and what the outcomes may be. It will also describe the anatomy and physiology of a uterus and involution. Lastly, a description of how the assessment is conducted and how during this partnership and cultural safety is maintained by the midwife.

Being a midwife refers to a profession where the midwife would work in partnership with the women throughout her pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period. Not only is being a midwife women-centred, however, their role also includes ensuring the partner and family members are prepared and aware of the process. Within a women’s health, the midwife should focus on health, family planning, nutrition, domestic and other health issues as the main priority is the