Skills-based childbirth preparation reduces stress for midwives
Anne M Howarth1, Kate M Scott1, Nicola R Swain1
1Dunedin School of Medicine, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Objective:
to explore the potential benefits of skills-based childbirth preparation on the work related stress levels of midwives.
Design:
a questionnaire was sent out to midwives who had clients participating in an RCT of an education package for childbirth preparation (The Pink Kit (PK) Method for Birthing Better®) delivered to parents.
Setting:
midwives were in private practice and acted as lead maternity carers to New Zealand first time mothers.
Participants:
one hundred and four independent midwives participated.
Measurements:
a brief questionnaire using a Visual Analogue Scale to portray perceptions of work-related stress and a yes/no question about expected and/or unexpected physical complications.
Findings:
midwives working with clients in the intervention group experienced less work-related stress after correction for medical complications compared to the two control groups.
Key Conclusions:
working with mothers who have used a programme that increased their childbirth self-efficacy decreased the work-related stress experienced by midwives.
Implications For Practice:
encouraging pregnant women to develop childbirth skills merits further investigation in an effort to reduce the work-related stress experienced by midwives.
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