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The Issue of Midwife Self Preservation

Abstract:

A few years ago Joan Donley wrote a book regarding the status of midwives in New Zealand. 'Save the Midwife' championed a return to autonomy of practice for midwives. When autonomy finally became a reality in 1990 following an amendment to the Nurses Act 1977, midwives increasingly began offering continuity of care to pregnant women. A model of midwifery partnership has slowly been developed (Guilliland and Pairman, 1995). The changes to NZ midwifery in the last eight years have been enormous and the independent midwife has been left to grapple with the challenge of balancing professional responsibility and personal needs (Kerins, 1997). The situation has changed from Save the Midwife - from extinction - to Preserve the Midwife - from exhaustion! This article will explore burnout and the steps taken by five independent midwives in the greater Auckland region to cope with this syndrome, which is also known as compassion fatigue (Figley, 1995).

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professional burnout, sustainability of LMC midwives, work-life balance