Dilemmas and Decision Making in Midwifery

This book teaches students and educators in the midwifery field how to tackle dilemmas and decision making. Combining theory and practice, and promoting critical thinking, this book provides key knowledge alongside case studies of how to approach real-life dilemmas in midwifery.

Written and edited by experts in the field, this book gives midwives and student midwives the opportunity to experience a systematic approach to facing dilemmas and decision making through the use of clinical scenarios. This is done in a safe space through an annotated thinking aloud framework where students and educators can have open discussions. Student midwives and practitioners are given the opportunity to explore professional dilemmas they might not have witnessed and uncover new theories that will influence future decisions. 

Linked to the 2019 NMC Standards for Midwifery, this book is essential reading for all stages of the midwifery career including those supporting students, coordinating care teams and those supporting multi-cultural communities. The midwives' personal reflections explore best practice and take account of other professional perspectives, including facilitators and barriers to interdisciplinary working. Learners will be able to consider a number of factors including concepts and theories, ethics and legal accountability, to explore how they interplay in making decisions. 

Introduction

Part 1 Universal and additional care: risk and safety

Chapter 1 Samia: my world view is not the same as yours

Chapter 2 Imogen: swimming against the tide

Chapter 3 Martha: support or stigma?

Part 2 Prioritising care

Chapter 4 Baby Alex: doing the right thing

Chapter 5 Molly and Sandra: novice and expert

Chapter 6 Katarzyna: when services are restricted

Chapter 7 Amira: refer or defer?

Part 3 Personalising care

Chapter 8 Sara: ‘return to how it was...’

Chapter 9 Rahaf: ‘no one puts their child in a boat.... ‘

Chapter 10 Oli: hello my name is ....my pronouns are

Chapter 11 Lucy: pregnant in a pandemic

Chapter 12 Drew: escaping the clique

Chapter 13 Andrea: not my day

Conclusion

Kenda Crozier is a Professor of Midwifery at the University of East Anglia with more than 20 years of experience in education and research related to midwifery practice. Her knowledge of education and the new professional standards for midwifery-led her to work for Health Education advising on midwifery career pathways and advanced practice in midwifery. 

Julia Hubbard is a Professor of Clinical Health Education at the University of East Anglia. She is an experienced academic, having worked in university-level healthcare education since 1993. During that time she has been involved in curriculum development and course delivery across a range of health care professions at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, both nationally and internationally. Her current role as innovation lead for the School of Health Sciences involves seeking new education opportunities to meet the changing health care needs of the UK population.