Critical Analysis of Queensland Maternity and Neonatal Clinical Guideline for Normal Birth

Running head: QUEENSLAND MATERNITY AND NEONATAL CLINICAL
GUIDELINE
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF QUEENSLAND MATERNITY AND NEONATAL
CLINICAL GUIDELINE FOR NORMAL BIRTH
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1QUEENSLAND MATERNITY AND NEONATAL CLINICAL GUIDELINE
Introduction
Maternity and neonatal care is a crucial aspect of healthcare in Australia. Queensland
Government has published a guideline regarding maternity and neonatal care for normal birth
to help the midwives during their practice and care providing. In this essay, this guideline
will be critically appraised on the basis of Griffith midwifery meta-values. Normal birth can
be defined as a delivery without being managed my clinical interventions. The delivery is
usually safer and the baby is born after the completion of 37th gestational week. The baby
comes out in the vertex position. Generally, the mother and the baby have healthy condition
after the delivery. Protecting, promoting and supporting normal birth through collaborative
woman-centred care is the main objective behind publishing the guideline. Ensuring positive
outcomes for mothers and babies, reducing cost of healthcare during delivery, safeguarding
the wellbeing of mental and physical health of the mother and reducing induced adverse
events during clinical intervention are the aims to achieve during normal birth in the hospital.
The trend of caesarean section is rising in Australia where the complications and cost are
higher. Ensuring proper care to the mother before and during delivery and implantation of a
strategy for all the stages of normal birth will definitely improve the perinatal consequences.
Discussion
Griffith midwifery meta-values are the guiding principal for the midwives working in
the healthcare industry. Acquiring knowledge, way of conducting and serving care to the
mothers are directed by these core principles for a midwife. For a midwife the decision
making, planning of strategy, responding to a problem and communication, collaboration
with other professionals in the health industry are precisely outlined in the meta-values
(Sidebotham et al., 2017).

2QUEENSLAND MATERNITY AND NEONATAL CLINICAL GUIDELINE
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Fig: Midwifery Meta-Values
Woman centred care is the most important meta-value for a midwife during providing
care to a mother during normal delivery. Respecting the belief and value of a woman and
giving priority to the decision making of the woman is the core value of woman centred care.
Responding and reacting to the requirements of the mother is also very crucial. The midwife
should work in a collaborative way with the woman respecting her rights to self-
determination. This will help the woman in self-care for herself and her baby after the
delivery. Midwife should be empathetic to the woman and maintain human rights, gender
equity throughout. Listening to the woman to support her emotionally is also an important
aspect of woman centred care (Renfrew et al., 2014). The clinical guideline by the
Queensland authority has prioritised the woman centred care approach. Verbal
communication where preferences for labour and delivery along with psychological and
emotional aspects is necessary between the pregnant woman and the midwife is important
according to the guidelines. Information about the medical history, maternal health check-up,
wellbeing of the foetus, abdominal assessment of the mother, contraction details, vagina and

3QUEENSLAND MATERNITY AND NEONATAL CLINICAL GUIDELINE
vaginal discharge examination and complications regarding maternal health should be
collected to assess the risk factors and set a clinical plan for the health professionals in the
hospitals including the midwife. All the information should be communicated with the
woman and possible clinical interventions should be consulted during all the stages of
delivery. These aspects about the guideline focus on the woman centred midwifery care.
Birth is a physiological event, which is normal and this is a meta-value, which is
significant in terms of normal birth. According to this meta-value, childbirth is a
transformational and emotional journey for a woman where her family is closely involved.
Promoting the normal delivery of baby is important, as it is beneficial for the mother and the
baby related outcomes (Cheyne, Abhyankar & McCourt, 2013). Considering the physical,
mental, emotional, social, religious, spiritual and sexual aspects of birth and providing
holistic care to the woman to ensure her proper health by using basic maternity models of
care is a priority according to this meta-value where midwives play the anchor role as the
primary care provider. In the clinical guideline supportive care promoting normal birth has
been proposed by providing individual midwifery support, making strategies to control pain
and provide comfort, involving professionals to provide mental support, evaluating birth plan,
providing calm and private environment for delivery and ensuring proper mobilisation of the
woman under care. In the first stage if the woman experience painful and regular
contractions, cervical effacement along with 4–6 cm of dilatation then it is active first stage
else it is latent first stage (Carolan-Olah, Kruger & Garvey-Graham, 2015). In both the cases
individual midwifery care is provided, mental, physical, psychological and clinical support is
provided along with an ideal environment. In case of any clinical interventions, the woman is
informed and all the medical examination are done accordingly to avoid any adverse
outcome. Proper clinical settings are also made for both the conditions. These clinical
guidelines do follow the birth is normal meta-value concept.