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    Midwives’ experiences of providing maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia

    Access Status
    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Bradfield, Zoe
    Hauck, Yvonne
    Homer, Caroline
    Sweet, Linda
    Wilson, Alyce
    Szabo, Rebecca
    Wynter, Karen
    Vasilevski, Vidanka
    Kuliukas, Lesley
    Date
    2021
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
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    Citation
    Bradfield, Z. and Hauck, Y. and Homer, C. and Sweet, L. and Wilson, A. and Szabo, R. and Wynter, K. et al. 2021. Midwives’ experiences of providing maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Women and Birth. 35 (3): pp. 262-271.
    Source Title
    Women and Birth
    DOI
    10.1016/j.wombi.2021.02.007
    ISSN
    1871-5192
    Faculty
    Faculty of Health Sciences
    School
    Curtin School of Nursing
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89725
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    Problem: The COVID-19 pandemic has required rapid and radical changes to the way maternity care is provided in many nations across the world. Background: Midwives provide care to childbearing women across the continuum and are key members of the maternity workforce in Australia. Aim: To explore and describe midwives’ experiences of providing maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Methods: A two-phased cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. Data were collected through an online survey and semi-structured interviews between May-June 2020. Findings: Six hundred and twenty midwives responded to the online survey. Many reported a move to telehealth appointments. For labour care, 70% of midwives reported women had limited support; 77% indicated postnatal visiting was impacted. Five main themes were derived from the qualitative data including: coping with rapid and radical changes, challenges to woman-centred care, managing professional resilience, addressing personal and professional challenges, and looking ahead. Discussion: Restrictions applied to women's choices, impacted midwives’ ability to provide woman-centred care, which resulted in stress and anxiety for midwives. Professional resilience was supported through collaborative relationships and working in continuity models. Midwives revealed ‘silver linings’ experienced in providing care during the pandemic. Conclusion: Findings provide valuable evidence to understand the impact on midwives who have provided care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowledge will be useful for health leaders and policy makers as they consider ways to continue care during the pandemic and support the essential midwifery workforce. Recommendations are presented to improve preparedness for future pandemics.

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    • Experiences of receiving and providing maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia: A five-cohort cross-sectional comparison
      Bradfield, Zoe ; Wynter, K.; Hauck, Yvonne ; Vasilevski, V.; Kuliukas, Lesley ; Wilson, A.N.; Szabo, R.A.; Homer, C.S.E.; Sweet, L. (2021)
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      Szabo, R.A.; Wilson, A.N.; Homer, C.; Vasilevski, V.; Sweet, L.; Wynter, K.; Hauck, Yvonne ; Kuliukas, Lesley ; Bradfield, Zoe (2021)
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