BMidwif Midwifery

Despite advances in maternity care, women and babies continue to experience ill-health or death as a result of complications occurring during pregnancy. Successive maternal and perinatal mortality reports have identified issues with midwifery care as a factor contributing to poor outcomes. This unit will review the concept of complexity and additional needs and assessment of these during pregnancy. Learners will be introduced to pre-existing conditions and lifestyle factors which may impact maternal and fetal wellbeing in pregnancy. The identification and management of common medical and obstetric complications will be reviewed, to facilitate in depth understanding of the need for flexible, responsive care for women and people with complex pregnancies. The role of the midwife in caring for the increasing number of vulnerable pregnant women and people and children needing care will also be explored. The wider context of care will be considered, through focus on psychosocial, ethical, legal and governance issues associated with caring for women and people with complex needs. Perinatal mental health will be explored using inter professional working with healthcare professionals from other disciplines and will address how to support women and people with mental health challenges. 
 

This unit aims to: (shared aims with Additional Midwifery Care Part 2)

• Develop and enhance learners’ knowledge, skills and understanding of the impact of medical, obstetric, psychosocial and neonatal complications on pregnant, birthing and postnatal women and people, babies and families.
• Enable learners to explore and critically analyse the evidence-base for the care of those with complex needs, including drug therapeutics where applicable

The intended learning outcomes (ILOs) and aims are all constructively aligned to ensure the teaching and assessment methods support the learners’ achievement of these to the highest standard. The assessment ensures that all aims and ILOs can be demonstrated as met during the assessment task and in order to facilitate learners’ understanding of the ILOs the following teaching methods will be used:

Synchronous 

Classroom-based and online, and asynchronous online

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Workshops
• Debate
• Peer review
• Quizzes
• Case studies
• Practical skills lab sessions
• Sma

• Demonstrate in-depth understanding of the additional needs and conditions associated with the development of complications in pregnancy.
• Critically analyse the role of the midwife in caring for women and people with additional needs, including in relation to continuity of carer and within the multi-disciplinary team.  
• Demonstrate comprehension of the professional, moral, ethical and legal issues influencing provision of care for birthing women, people and families during complex pregnancies.

• Identify and critically review the evidence related to common complex needs including underlying causes and associations, potential outcomes and impacts on future health.
• Discuss the specific roles and responsibilities of the midwife providing psychosocial care when caring for birthing women and people with identified complications during childbearing.
• Critically analyse the interprofessional provision of care for birthing women and people with mental health challenges.

• Evaluate scenarios to promote early identification and appropriate referral for birthing women and people with additional needs.
• Formulate effective, sensitive midwifery care plans, for ongoing care during the childbearing continuum and clearly explain the underpinning rationale.

• Demonstrate effective verbal and written communication with birthing women and people, their families and within the multidisciplinary team
• Demonstrate ability to engage in effective problem solving and decision making where complex situations arise.
• Demonstrate the ability to reflect on development of academic and clinical skills and use a range of strategies to enhance performance

Formative

Group peer review of case study and care plan.

• Anderson M (2022) Midwifery Essentials: Perinatal Mental Health: Vol 9, Edinburgh, Elsevier
• Baston H, Hall J & Samples J (2019) Midwifery essentials: Medical Conditions: Volume 8, Edinburgh, Elsevier
• Brazier M, Cave E (2011) Medicine, Patients and the Law (5th Edition) London: Penguin.
• Bothamley J, Boyle M (2024) Hypertensive and medical Disorders In Pregnancy in Macdonald S, Johnson G, Mayes Midwifery , Edinburgh, Elsevier, pp1148-1183
• Bothamley J, Boyle M (2021) Medical Conditions Affecting Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2nd Edition. Oxfordshire, Routledge
• Boyle M, Bothamley J (2018) Critical Care Assessment. Oxfordshire, Routledge 
• Bryce H (2016) The Midwives Guide to Key Medical Conditions. 2nd Edition. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
• Clarke E (2015) Law and Ethics for Midwifery, Oxfordshire, Routledge
• Einav S. Weiniger C, Landau R (2020) Principles and Practice Of Maternal Critical Care, Switzerland, Springer
• Percudani M, Bramante A, Brenna V,Pariante C (2022) Key Topics In perinatal Mental Health, Switzerland, Springer. 
• Powell C (2016) Safeguarding and Child Protection for Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors: A Practical Guide 2nd Edition, New York, McGraw Hill Education
• Wylie L, Bryce H,(2016) The Midwives Guide To key Medical Conditions: Pregnancy and Childbirth, Edinburgh, Elsevier