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How can midwives in the UK improve newborn care after the birth and throughout the postnatal period?
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Introduction: Following publication of the future midwives’ standards (NMC 2019), every pre-registration midwifery curriculum validated to be taught in a UK university should include systematic examination of the newborn (SEN). On qualification, all newly qualified midwives should have the skills and knowledge to care for healthy newborn infants and detect, stabilise, and manage health problems in newborn infants and refer, if necessary.
Aim: This presentation will examine how midwives can have the same level of essential competencies for midwifery practice to care for newborns immediately after the birth and during the postnatal period.
Planning and theoretical foundation of the practice project: The decision to include SEN in all UK midwifery programmes has been welcomed. However, it is equally important to ensure all qualified midwives have an opportunity to gain the same level of evidenced-based knowledge, clinical skills, and a university accredited qualification to care for newborns. This presentation will include details of the work undertaken by the London SEN group which formed in September 2021 and the provision of a post-registration SEN module at one London university since May 2023.
Discussion: The London SEN group meetings highlighted a variation in availability of mentors to support midwives during their clinical placements when undertaking the SEN module. Additionally, limited funding for post registration education in the UK is a barrier for some midwives to undertake the module.
Relevance: The latest perinatal mortality rate in the UK, 4.85 per 1,000 births is well below the UN Sustainability Developmental goal of 12 per 1,000 births by 2030. However, the following clinical challenges will continue to be relevant in all global heath settings: congenital anomalies, neonatal jaundice, sepsis, prematurity, and hypoglycaemia.
Conclusions: Midwives in the UK and globally can only improve newborn care after the birth and throughout the postnatal period if they all have the same level of evidence-based knowledge, clinical skills, competency, and share examples of good practice.
Ethics and conflicts of interest: A vote on ethics was not necessary. The research was financed by own resources. There are no conflicts of interest.
The PDF file of the poster submitted for the meeting is available in English as Attachment 1 [Attach. 1].
