The Canadian nurse
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To elicit nurses' opinions on five proposed models of maternity care in Ontario, to examine barriers to collaborative practice, and to identify factors that would encourage nurses to practise in the area of intrapartum care, a survey was mailed to a stratified random sample of nurses in Ontario (N = 750). Participants were asked whether they would consider practising in one or more of the five proposed models of maternity care. Almost half the participants endorsed the model of nurses' providing labour and delivery care to patients of family physicians and obstetricians. ⋯ Participants identified resistance to change (49.9%) and lack of communication (47.2%) as the two main barriers to collaborative practice. The majority of respondents (84.2%) ranked good medical and obstetrical backup as the key factor that would encourage them to provide intrapartum care. A respectful work environment and collaborative models of maternity care were also ranked highly.