An ethnography of midwifery work patterns during organisational redesign

Despite a substantial increase in midwifery research since the early 1990's, there remains a lack of available research into the everyday practice of midwives. In general, hospitals are striving to reduce costs and increase efficiencies, so many hospital-based midwives are being exposed to hospital restructuring processes. The primary purpose of my research was to learn about the work patterns of hospital midwives during organisational redesign. A large Brisbane hospital, as part of its hospital-wide organisational redesign plan, merged two postnatal wards to create a new, larger unit. With this amalgamation, the ward midwives were exposed to several service delivery changes. Midwifery work patterns during this organisational change revealed a milieu characterised by a culture of business. The impact of change introduced ritual and personal elements that influenced midwifery work patterns.