Western Australian midwifery educators and students, together with maternity care providers, recently gathered to discuss solutions to challenges and inspire change within their profession.
The Moving Midwifery Forward Conference, held at The University of Notre Dame Australia on Saturday, 20 February 2016, saw more than 125 delegates from across metropolitan and regional WA in attendance.
Despite ongoing advancements in obstetric care for women, Sheena McChlery, Senior Lecturer and Midwifery Course Coordinator at Notre Dame, said there were several aspects of midwifery practice that continued to cause concern for midwives.
“Ensuring continuity of care for women, so that women can build a trusting and valued relationship with a health professional; encouraging midwifery students to become involved in research and change in their field; and ensuring that women have flexibility of choice in their pregnancies, births and the postpartum period, are just some of the challenges confronting the contemporary midwife,” Ms McChlery said.
The conference was organised and supported by the Midwifery Educators of WA, a collaborative group of senior leaders in midwifery education at Notre Dame, Edith Cowan University and Curtin University.
Attendees heard from a number of presenters who discussed contemporary approaches to, and personal accounts of, issues within the midwifery profession.
Topics covered included: the birthing stories of Noongar women; the cultural care of refugee pregnant women; the needs of pregnant adolescents; and working as midwives in private practice in rural and metropolitan locations.
Ms McChlery says midwifery is an attractive career as it involves holistic and woman-centred care and the ability to make a difference in the childbirth experiences of women.
Notre Dame’s Graduate Diploma of Midwifery program, delivered on the Fremantle Campus, actively prepares students to value women and their families and recognise the responsibility of ethical and culturally safe midwifery practice.
“As part of the course, Midwifery students are exposed to six different facilities, in metropolitan and country areas, both public and private, for a practicum period of 10 weeks each semester. This assists students in learning flexibility, adaptability and helps them to experience different models of midwifery care,” Ms McChlery said.