Philosophy, Knowledge, Skills and Evidence for Optimum Birth

This advanced course will support your transition to a senior position within maternity services by offering development in core areas of clinical practice linked to Optimal Birth, human rights legislation applied to maternity care, communication skills, strategic thinking and human factors.

Facilitated by world-leading researchers and practitioners, the course allows students to learn new evidence and innovative techniques for transforming maternity services.

By the end of the course you will be expected to develop an improvement project linked to your area of practice focusing on the concept of Optimal Birth.

The course is highly interactive and ground-breaking. The feedback by students since 2016 has been outstanding.

Who is it for?

• Clinicians who aim to enhance their knowledge and skills in physiological birth
• Service managers for midwifery services
• Continuity of carer team members and team leaders
• Homebirth/Birth Centre midwives
• Strategic Senior Managers for midwife-led settings
• Consultant Midwives and aspiring Consultant Midwives
• Labour Ward Coordinators.

Timetable

This course runs as an intensive on-campus module with an online introductory session in May.

Term 3

Introductory session: Tuesday 21 May 2024

Full week of teaching (5 days) - Monday 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 July 2024

Benefits

The key takeaway from this course is the development of your clinical, strategic thinking and service-improvement ability, enabling you to provide higher-quality maternity care.

The course will enable students to achieve a range of evidence based, practical skills including:

• The integration of techniques and skills (including non-pharmacological techniques) to support women towards achieving optimal birth.
• Proficient fetal assessment of wellbeing using intermittent auscultation
• Management of obstetric emergencies in low risk birthing environments
• The synthesis of clinical safety with sensitivity to service users’ experience and choice
• How to design and create a model of practice that will enhance optimum birth in midwifery at service level, in line with recent government policies
• An understanding of the evidence that underpin best practice and the national quality agenda.

Learning

The course is delivered via a range of techniques, including distance learning preceding the intensive week of practical workshops, discussion groups (face-to-face and online), lectures, simulation and role-play. Students have access to a range of learning spaces including virtual and presential. Face-to-face learning will be facilitated in City’s state-of-the-art Clinical Skills Centre, our specialist Technology Enabled Care Studio City TECS, computer labs and classrooms.

Assessment

You will develop a comprehensive strategic plan for introducing a normality-enhancing innovation in practice and will write a 3,000-word report describing your strategic plan. You will actively participate in asynchronous, on-line learning activities through Moodle.

At the end of the week you will receive a participation certificate and on successful completion of the assignment you will obtain 15 Level 7 credits and/or a CPD certificate.

This course is provided by the School of Health & Psychological Sciences.

Credits

This course is worth 15 credits toward eligible programmes.

Non-EEA students can only apply as part of a programme, not as a stand-alone course.

• Applicants would normally be expected to have been practicing in the field of maternity care for at least one year.

English requirements

If your first language is not English, one of the following is required:

• A first degree from a UK university
• A first degree from an overseas institution recognised by City, University of London as providing adequate evidence of proficiency in the English language, for example, from institutions from Australia, Canada or the United States of America.
• International English Language Test Service (IELTS) a score of 7.0 is required with no subtest below 7.0
• Pearson Test of English (Academic) score 72 required
• TOEFL 100 overall with 24 in Writing, 20 in Listening, 19 Reading and 20 Speaking
• Other evidence of proficiency in the English language, which satisfies the board of studies concerned, including registration with your professional regulator.

Reference list for APM044- 2021-22 (this is a selection of the references, not all inclusive)

• Berta, M., Lindgren, H., Christensson, K., Mekonnen, S. and Adefris, M., 2019. Effect of maternal birth positions on duration of second stage of labor: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 19(1), pp.1-8.
• Birthrights (2021) Can I choose where to give birth? [online]
• Dahlen, H.G., Kennedy, H.P., Anderson, C.M., Bell, A.F., Clark, A., Foureur, M., Ohm, J.E., Shearman, A.M., Taylor, J.Y., Wright, M.L. and Downe, S., 2013. The EPIIC hypothesis: intrapartum effects on the neonatal epigenome and consequent health outcomes. Medical hypotheses, 80(5), pp.656-662.
• Darling, F., McCourt, P.C. and Cartwright, D.M. (2021) 'Facilitators and barriers to the implementation of a physiological approach during labour and birth: A systematic review and thematic synthesis', Midwifery, 92, pp. 102861.
• Downe, S. and Byrom, S. eds., 2019. Squaring the Circle: Normal Birth Research, Theory and Practie in a Technological Age. Pinter & Martin Limited.
• Downe, S., Finlayson, K., Oladapo, O.T., Bonet, M. and Gülmezoglu, A.M. (2018) 'What matters to women during childbirth: A systematic qualitative review', PloS ONE, 13(4), pp. e0194906.
• Falk, M., Nelson, M. and Blomberg, M., (2019) The impact of obstetric interventions and complications on women’s satisfaction with childbirth a population based cohort study including 16,000 women. BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 19(1), pp.1-9.
• Miller, S., Prof, Abalos, E., MD, Chamillard, M., MD, Ciapponi, A., Msc, Colaci, D., MD, Comandé, D., BIS, Diaz, V., MD, Geller, S., Prof, Hanson, C., PhD, Langer, A., Prof, Manuelli, V., MD, Millar, K., MPH, Morhason-Bello, I., MD, Castro, C.P., PhD, Pileggi, V.N., MSc, Robinson, N., MD, Skaer, M., MPH, Souza, J.P., Prof, Vogel, J.P., PhD and Althabe, F., MD (2016) 'Beyond too little, too late and too much, too soon: a pathway towards evidence-based, respectful maternity care worldwide', The Lancet (British edition), 388(10056), pp. 2176-2192.
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Intrapartum care for healthy women and babies.
• NHS England (2020a) Implementing Better Birth: Continuity of Carer. Five year forward view. [online]
• Renfrew, M., Ateva, E., Dennis-Antwi, J.A., Davis, D., Dixon, L., Johnson, P., Kennedy, H.P., Knutsson, A., Lincetto, O., McConville, F. and McFadden, A., 2019. Midwifery is a vital solution: what is holding back global progress?. Birth, 46(3), pp.396-399.
• Schiller, R., 2016. Why human rights in childbirth matter. Pinter & Martin Limited.
• World Health Organization, 2018. WHO recommendations on intrapartum care for a positive childbirth experience. World Health Organization.