gms | German Medical Science

Background: The establishment of the national Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) program has meant a marked increase in the quality of the guidelines produced. The CPG for Normal Childbirth was published in 2010.

Objectives: To study if there are differences between obstetricians and midwives in the degree of knowledge on childbirth clinical practice guidelines.

Methods: A national survey was developed consisting of 28 questions classified into three areas (Knowledge, Use of CPGs and Applicability of the Normal Childbirth guideline) which was submitted anonymously, via the professional midwives and obstetrician associations, to 1,107 professionals in July 2011. Data were collected in October 2011. Herein results regarding CPG’s knowledge are presented.

Results: A total of 629 (57%) hospital professionals answered the survey, although only 384 (35%) provided information regarding their demographic and professional characteristics. Nine months after its publication, the Normal Childbirth guideline is recognized by 85% of all professionals. A significant difference is also observed in the level of knowledge of the guideline between the different professional profiles. A greater proportion of midwives (96%) know the guideline vs. 78% of obstetricians (p <0.001). On the other hand, 2 international CPG on the same topic are only known by 22% and 37% of them, with no relevant differences between midwives and obstetricians.

Discussion and Implications: The findings show a high level of knowledge of the Normal Childbirth guideline by its main target users, which are the midwives. Moreover, this national guideline is much more known than international guidelines among professionals.