Search

A workshop on international research in midwifery was held at the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Triennial Congress in Vienna, April 2002. Thirty-five participants from 12 countries took part. The participants themselves defined the agenda, and subsequent discussion addressed the following issues: international research relationships and collaboration; ethical conduct in international research in midwifery; the role of the International Confederation of Midwives in international research; and identifying topics for an international midwifery research agenda. Recommendations arising from this workshop were as follows: develop guidelines and a code of ethics for the conduct of international research in midwifery; continue to actively support research and further develop that support; support education and capacity building for research at basic and continuing education levels; and update on a regular basis the priorities identified for collaborative international studies.

Background midwifery is a part of the nursing profession in India. This current study explores and describes the midwifery scope of practice among staff nurses. Methods a grounded theory approach was used to develop a model. Twenty-eight service providers from the maternity sections of public health facilities, selected through purposive and theoretical sampling were interviewed in-depth. Unstructured observations in the labour wards were also used for developing the model. Findings the midwifery practice of staff nurses was limited in scope compared to international standards of midwifery. Their practice was circumstance driven, ranging from extended to marginal depending on the context. Their right to practice was not legally defined, but they were not specifically prohibited from practice. As a consequence, the staff nurses faced loss of skills, and deskilling when their practice was restricted. Their practice was perceived as risky, when the scope of practice was extended because it was not rightfully endorsed, the nurses having no officially recognized right to practice midwifery at that level. The clinical midwifery education of nursing and midwifery students was marginalized because the education of medical students was given priority, and the students only got exposed to the restricted practice of staff nurses. Conclusions unclear definitions of the right to practice and the scope of practice have led to the un-utilized potential of staff nurses practising midwifery. This is detrimental because India faces an acute shortage of qualified personnel to meet the need in providing human resources for maternal health.

Andhra Pradesh, a large state in southern India, has a high maternal mortality ratio of 195 per 100,000 livebirths despite the improvements in social, demographic and health indicators over the last two decades. This contrary situation has been analyzed using findings of different studies on maternal mortality, and four factors have been presented for consistently-high maternal mortality in the state. First, the disproportionately-high focus on family planning towards population stabilization reduced the emphasis on maternal health in the peripheral hospitals, resulting in low use of these facilities for childbirths. Second, the growth of services in Primary Health Centres was not given adequate emphasis, resulting in the weakening of the peripheral health system. Third, there was little emphasis on developing a cadre of midwives who would have primarily focused on maternal health. Lastly, the low status of women in the state has hampered timely referral and access to services.

'Pranayama' or yogic breathing as a method of re-expansion of lungs in patients with pleural effusion was studied. Ten patients with pleural effusion practised alternate nostril breathing for 20 days after aspiration of fluid. An equal number matched for age and smoking habits underwent routine physiotherapy of the hospital for the same period. Lung function was measured: before aspiration; immediately after aspiration; and, 5, 10, 15 and 20 days after aspiration. The FVC, FEV1, MVV, PEFR, CE and RS, were used to measure lung function. The difference between the two groups in the gain in lung expansion as assessed by the above measures was tested for significance with appropriate nonparametric statistical tests at 0.1 level of significance. The results revealed that the patients practising Pranayama demonstrated a quicker re-expansion of the lungs in most of the measures of lung function. The findings are discussed in relation to implications for nursing care.

A workshop on international research in midwifery was held at the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Triennial Congress in Vienna, April 2002. Thirty-five participants from 12 countries took part. The participants themselves defined the agenda, and subsequent discussion addressed the following issues: international research relationships and collaboration; ethical conduct in international research in midwifery; the role of the International Confederation of Midwives in international research; and identifying topics for an international midwifery research agenda. Recommendations arising from this workshop were as follows: develop guidelines and a code of ethics for the conduct of international research in midwifery; continue to actively support research and further develop that support; support education and capacity building for research at basic and continuing education levels; and update on a regular basis the priorities identified for collaborative international studies.