The importance of terminology when discussing risks in pregnancy

Dear Editor, I read with interest the article titled, ‘How do risk management principles fit with the reality of clinical midwifery?’ by Evette Sebastien Roberts published in the British Journal of...

Talking about smoking cessation with postnatal women: exploring midwives' experiences

Maintenance of smoking cessation after pregnancy remains a challenge, with many women who quit during pregnancy relapsing by six months (Logan et al, 2017) Factors relating to relapse postnatally are...

Influence of midwife communication on women's understanding of Down syndrome screening information

All pregnant women in England, Wales and Scotland are offered screening for Down syndrome at their first antenatal (booking) appointment with their midwife (UK National Screening Committee [UK NSC],...

Fairy tale midwifery ten years on: facilitating the transition to newly qualified midwife

Seminal work (Kramer, 1974) indicated that newly qualified practitioners experience a reality shock on initiation of first post, which is supported by subsequent literature (Maben and Macleod-Clark,...

Genetic risk assessment and haemoglobinopathy counselling: two case studies

The role of the antenatal and newborn (ANNB) coordinator is to work as part of a team to deliver the six ANNB programmes commissioned by the NHS, with oversight and quality assurance provided by...

Obtaining and confirming consent

A recent High Court case has highlighted for midwives the importance of obtaining and confirming valid consent Mordel v Royal Berkshire NHS centred on what information had been provided and understood...

Coping with baby loss as a midwife

Every year, more than 6 500 babies and children under the age of five die in the UK (Child Bereavement UK, 2017) While it is widely recognised that bereaved parents should receive high-quality support...

Dealing with burnout

In their study of physician stress, Hannan et al (2018) note that in 1974, the American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger first coined the term ‘burnout’, defining it as ‘a state of mental and...

Book review

Squaring The Circle The book ‘Squaring...

‘Please mind the gap’

As I sat on a busy tube shuttling across London on my way to a regional meeting, I used the time to reflect upon my career I had spent all my life aspiring to be a clinical midwife, guiding women...

Learning from loss for professionals and parents

‘They/them’ in the birth room

New research is required to understand the needs of transgender people in the birth room