The practising midwife
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The aim of this bi-monthly column is to highlight Cochrane Systematic Reviews of relevance to pregnancy and childbirth and to stimulate discussion on their implications for practice. The Cochrane Collaboration is an international organisation that prepares and maintains high quality systematic reviews to help people make well-informed decisions about healthcare and health policy. A systematic review searches, appraises and synthesises existing research to answer a specific research question. Residents in countries with a national license to The Cochrane Library, including the UK and Ireland, can access the Cochrane Library online free of charge through www.thecochranelibrary.com.
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Maternity Services and the whole team delivering care to women and their families have had the benefit of the review and recommendations from the confidential enquiries into maternal deaths since their beginnings in 1952. The maternal death enquiry continued to develop and became UK wide in the 1990s. The title of the report published in December 2007 changed to the more positive 'Saving Mothers' Lives: Reviewing maternal deaths to make motherhood safer--2003-2005'. ⋯ It is an ideal opportunity for midwives to be involved and work with the whole team to review the report and its recommendations. They can contribute towards ensuring that the local service and care delivered meet the standards expected, reflect the recommendations and make the service provided for local mothers and babies as safe as possible. In this article, a supervisor of midwives and regional midwifery assessor reflects on these role in relation to maternal death and the lessons that can be learnt from the actions taken and recorded in each case when this devastating event occurs.
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Although very rare in the UK, sepsis was the leading cause of direct maternal deaths during 2006-2008, with an increase in community acquired Group A streptococcal infection (CMACE 2011). Most deaths occurred in the postnatal period and were often preceded by a sore throat or other upper respiratory infection, with a clear seasonal pattern. An associated factor was women of BME origin (black or minority ethnic origin). ⋯ Information should include the importance of good hand and perineal hygiene and of the need to seek immediate medical care if feeling unwell. Relevant NICE guidance should be disseminated and implemented as widely as possible. Greater priority should be given to ensuring all women, particularly those in the most vulnerable groups, are aware of how to access timely and appropriate care.
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The practising midwife · Apr 2011
Historical ArticleUsing historical research to make sense of our past, our present and our future. 3. Finding and using historical sources.
This article is the third of a series of four pieces looking at the use of historical research to explore midwifery. It considers the practicalities of finding and using historical sources, and at some of the ethical implications involved. ⋯ Oral history can be a powerful way of capturing stories and memories that were never written down. Care needs to taken in using sources sensitively, particularly when they involve people who are still alive.