Midwifery Practice

Midwifery Practice

The Scottish Normal Labour and Birth Course has been developed as part of the Scottish Multiprofessional Maternity Development Programme (SMMDP) - an evolving programme of courses designed to meet the needs of healthcare professionals involved in the delivery of maternity care.

The Course has been developed and organised as part of the SMMDP in an attempt to ensure midwives and other maternity care professionals have the knowledge and confidence in supporting women in labour to achieve a normal birth. This is one of the prime functions of a midwife but requires specific psychological, physical, technical knowledge and skills. Despite this being central to midwifery practice, many midwives and other maternity care professionals work predominately in environments where higher levels of intervention are the norm and they have had to become knowledgeable and proficient in different skills and consequently are less confident supporting women in a low-risk setting.

Promoting normality was seen as one of the core competencies for all professionals in maternity care identified in the ‘Overview report’ from the Expert Group on Acute Maternity Services (EGAMS) (Scottish Executive 2002).

Indicative Content

Definitions of normality and major influencing factors. Preparation, movement, nutrition, pain relief, and assessment strategies. ‘What If’ scenarios. To facilitate normal labour in all aspects of practice.