NURS3038 - The Art of Woman-Centered Care & Midwifery's Integral Role

This essay explores the concept of woman-centered care within the context of midwifery, emphasizing its importance throughout the childbirth continuum. It highlights the unique needs and expectations of women, advocating for self-determination and continuity of care while addressing their social, physical, spiritual, cultural, and emotional needs. The essay further examines the integral role of midwives in providing effective midwifery care, including monitoring the baby's health, preparing women for birth, offering emotional support, and promoting self-care. The importance of partnership, cultural sensitivity, and preventative care in midwifery practice are also discussed. Ultimately, the essay concludes that woman-centered care, facilitated by skilled midwives, leads to improved health outcomes for both women and their children.

ACADEMIC PAPER WOMAN
CENTERED CARE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
The art of women centred care received by women throughout childbirth continuum..........1
The role of midwife’s in providing effective midwifery care................................................2
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Women centered care can be stated as importance provided to care and needs of women by
the healthcare profession so that effective treatment can be provided to it for its better health and
well-being. Midwife plays an important role in providing appropriate respectful, compassionate,
knowledgeable and skilled to all women, new-born infants and their families. Moreover, it can
be stated that midwifes work across continuum from pre-pregnancy, labour, postpartum and
early weeks of new-born infant’s life (Mainey & et.al., (2020). This report has covered crucial
information related to the art of women centered care received by women throughout childbirth
continuum. Furthermore, the roles of midwife’s in providing effective midwifery care to women
for their overall health and well- being.
The art of women centred care received by women throughout childbirth continuum
Women centred care focus on unique needs, expectations and aspiration of women
through recognises its right to self-determination in terms of control and continuity of care.
Through addressing issue that are face by women such as social, physical, spiritual, cultural and
emotional needs (Afulani, Sayi & Montagu, (2018). Furthermore, it states that women and new
born does not exist independently with each other so they need to be provided proper care. All
those are working in maternity care have explained that they aim to support health, well-being
and focus on delivering positive experience of care during the pregnancy (Rijnders & et.al.,
(2019). Or in early week of life and birth with a motivate to contribute growth of secure
attachment between the baby and its parents.
Continuity of midwifery can be defined as women that develop an partnership with
midwife to receive care during its pregnancy, labor pain and postnatal period. This lead in
lowering the intervention rates through offering better services to women. As continuity care
helps in better understanding of women, building trust between them and supporting so that they
can have a healthy baby (Joshi & et.al., (2021). It also helped in providing the personalised care
to the women as per their health problem or issue that they are being facing during the
pregnancy. Women centred care is suitable solely for healthy childbearing women or enhancing
the experience of women through resolving health problem face by them in effective. So it
contributes in ensuring that the babies and women get best care from midwifes throughout the
childbirth continuum (Mainey & et.al., (2020).
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Furthermore, continuity of care is also concerned with providing quality care over time or
process in which both the carer and patient coordinate and cooperate with each other for
healthcare management. So that the desired goals such as high quality, cost effective medical
care can be offered to the women. It has helped in developing the confidence level and enable
the carer in more effective patient advocates (Sutter, Gopman & Leeman, (2017). Women
career is able to have sufficient detail pertaining to history of patient, what all factors has lead in
its particular health condition. So that right decision can be taken to improve the condition thus
it lead in enhancing the safety and quality of care provided to the women. In another words, it is
one of the dynamic process that facilitate communication, trust that contribute healthcare
professional to offer women safe and secure or centralised services (Buetow & Gauld, (2018).
The role of midwife’s in providing effective midwifery care
The midwife’s plays important role in provide midwifery care to the women for their health
and well- being and better growth of the child. They are nurses that underwent extra study by
completing their respective education of 3-year university degree without needs for studying
nursing first. It checks baby health, position and overall growth so it can be fit and fine, helps
with hospital booking, routine test and check (Fontein-Kuipers, de Groot & van Staa, (2018).
Along with it prepare women for birth and labor pain, provide information, encouragement and
emotional support to the women. Midwifes also monitor progress and suggest strategies to
provide effective midwifery care to women during its pregnancy (Al-Motlaq & Shields, (2017).
Therefore, it can be said that it monitors overall heartbeat and other sign of baby and ensure
good health of the women.
Likewise, partnership with the women contribute in promoting self-care, health of infants,
mother and its family. In addition to this midwife provide respect to human or women while
providing them services so that they can feel happy and satisfied. Secondly it can be stated that
role of midwifes is needs of heard the voice of women or what issue that they are facing to find
alternative method to resolve them. Cultural sensitivity is also role of Midwifes as healthcare
provider work with women in order to overcome the cultural practices that can harm babies and
women (Brown, (2020). Through taking steps related to reduce the difference in culture
practices is able to make women continuous and better healthcare. Moreover, it has also
identified that midwife focus more on preventing the health diseases or health promotions so that
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the pregnancy can be normal life event. Midwife serve diverse population and women that have
complex lives and require social and healthcare needs. Thus they play significant role in
providing effective midwifery care (Qohal & Kaddaf, (2019).
CONCLUSION
Form the above report it can be concluded that art of women centered care received by
women throughout childbirth continuum lead in improving and ensuring better health of women
as well its child. At the same time, midwifes also play significant role in providing qualitative
services, support to women and its child for its health and well-being. Such as it has been
learned that that it monitors overall heartbeat, condition of child and offer appropriate care to
them (Fontein-Kuipers, de Groot & van Staa, (2018). Proper care and partnership or
relationship between the nurse and patient helps in building confidence in women about the birth
of the child. Therefore, in last it can be summarized from above study that it leads in women
care centered and midwife helps in providing support to women during their pregnancy phase.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Afulani, P. A., Sayi, T. S. & Montagu, D., (2018). Predictors of person-centered maternity care:
the role of socioeconomic status, empowerment, and facility type. BMC health services
research, 18(1). pp.1-16.
Al-Motlaq, M .A. & Shields, L., (2017). Family-centered care as a Western-centric model in
developing countries. Holistic nursing practice, 31(5). pp.343-347.
Brown, S., (2020). Family-Centered Care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Buetow, S. & Gauld, N., (2018). Conscientious objection and person-centered care. Theoretical
medicine and bioethics, 39(2). pp.143-155.
Fontein-Kuipers, Y., de Groot, R. & van Staa, A., (2018). Woman-centered care 2.0: Bringing
the concept into focus. European journal of Midwifery, 2.
Joshi, C & et.al., 2021. Women-centered drug treatment models for pregnant women with opioid
use disorder: A scoping review. Drug and alcohol dependence, p.108855.
Mainey, L., O & et.al., (2020). The role of nurses and midwives in the provision of abortion
care: A scoping review. Journal of clinical nursing, 29(9-10). pp.1513-1526.
Qohal, A. H. & Kaddaf, F. A., (2019). Obstacles Associated with Considering Family as Client
(Family Centered Care). Open Journal of Nursing, 9(08). p.795.
Rijnders, M & et.al., (2019). Women‐centered care: Implementation of CenteringPregnancy® in
The Netherlands. Birth, 46(3). pp.450-460.
Sutter, M. B., Gopman, S. & Leeman, L., (2017). Patient-centered care to address barriers for
pregnant women with opioid dependence. Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics, 44(1).
pp.95-107.
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