11.3 What do midwives do?

The title of midwife continues to be enshrined in law in the UK- but what is it that midwives do that is different to other health care professionals in maternity services? Why is the role unique? What makes it special? Hosted by: Dr Jenny Hall, Editor, Matflix Contribution from: Dr Maeve Anne O’Connell , Assistant Professor of Midwifery, Fatima College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Dr Claire Feeley, Researcher and Lecturer, King’s College London Biographies Dr Maeve Anne O’Connell Maeve is a Registered Midwife and Nurse. Coming from Cork in the Republic of Ireland, she is passionate about midwifery, intrapartum care in particular and has a strong presence on social media as a nurse and midwife promoting midwifery and maternal and new-born health. Maeve holds a Master’s in Advanced Practice from King’s College London and a PhD in Medicine & Health from University College Cork. Her PhD research concerns fear of childbirth and tocophobia in pregnant women which has been presented at international conferences and journal publications, which are widely cited, a Cochrane Review- Interventions for fear of childbirth (tocophobia) and a book chapter in an edited text about understanding childbirth fear and anxiety. She is also the author of the new updated Chapter on 'Care in the First Stage of Labour' in the newest Edition of the core Midwifery Textbook Mayes Midwifery. She has been an Associate Editor for Women and Birth Journal for three years and peer reviews for many journals. Maeve is presently working as Assistant Professor of Midwifery in Fatima College of Health Sciences in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates where she is working with Dr Georgina Sosa to develop the first Bachelors Midwifery Degree Program in the United Arab Emirates. She has previously lectured in Midwifery and Public Health Nursing in University College Cork, Ireland and worked as Lecturer in Nursing at RCSI Bahrain, Bahrain and Senior Lecturer in Midwifery at Cardiff University in Wales in the United Kingdom. She is also a Fellow of the Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery at RCSI, which was awarded in recognition of her exceptional commitment, dedication, and contribution to the delivery of care. Maeve believes that positive public promotion of midwifery is crucial for the survival of our profession. In her role as an educator, her mission is to educate, nurture, and foster independent critical thinking and learning in students. She is passionate about evidence-based practice and that women and midwives have access to the best available evidence to provide woman-centred care. Her methodological interests are systematic reviews, meta-analysis, meta-synthesis and quantitative epidemiological studies. “We must continuously strive for high quality care for women and babies to give them the best start in life.” Dr Claire Feeley Qualifying as a midwife in 2011, earning an MSc in 2015, PhD in 2019; Claire has worked clinically in all areas of midwifery, in all settings, and across different organisations, across all birthplace settings – specialising in physiological birth across the risk spectrum, water immersion, advocacy and change implementation. Claire’s primary research focus has been on the sociocultural-political interactions upon women’s access to, engagement with and experiences of maternity care. Grounded within interests of health inequalities, childbirth choices, autonomy, rights and care provision issues; a core research focus is on ‘full-scope’ midwifery skill, competence and enabling (or not) working environments as the solution to overcoming many of the issues. Claire has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, two monographs, professional articles, book chapters, in addition to presenting nationally and internationally on these key topics. Now a lecturer and researcher at King’s College London and a freelance consultant, Claire can be contacted at www.clairefeeley.com