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The Jean O'Neil Case: Civil Negligence in Obstetric Care

By Keown, R
on Friday, 01 Oct 1999 in New Zealand College of Midwives Journal - Volume: 21

This paper examines the requirements for the tort of negligence as set out in Bolam v. Friern Hospital Management Committee in light of professional liability in cases of obstetrical negligence. Focus is placed on the New Zealand Nursing Council decision in the Mary Jean O'Neil case in comparison with the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Committee decision in the Dr Howard Clentworth case. Criticisms are made regarding the notion that the reasonable midwife standard includes underlying assumptions of the reasonable male practitioner standard. Essentially, it will be argued that this is of negative consequence since the Bolam test is a gendered concept based on the reasonable male. The 'unpacking' of this legal standard reveals that accepted obstetrical practices are falsely assumed to be acceptable and that adopting the reasonable woman practitioner standard alone does not solve the Bolam problems.

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The Magical Moment of Birth - a Biochemical Perspective

By Penny, S
on Friday, 01 Oct 1999 in New Zealand College of Midwives Journal - Volume: 21

Roughly 40 weeks from the date of the last menstrual period or 38 weeks after conception human labour begins. What causes labour to begin? This is not just an academic question. An understanding and appreciation of the basic biochemistry and physiology involved makes it easier to support women in labour by optimising the natural processes involved, as well as confronting the problems of preterm (or post term) labour. Normal length of gestation is highly species specific and in general labour occurs when the growing fetus has lost the need for dependence on the respiratory and excretory functions of the mother. Therefore the timing of parturition is closely related to the stage of maturity of the fetus.

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Letter to the editor re: Nursing Council findings on Jean O'Neil

By Sinclair, S
on Thursday, 01 Apr 1999 in New Zealand College of Midwives Journal - Volume: 20

Comment on the Notice of Publication regarding the Nursing Council findings on the standard of care by midwife Jean O'Neil.

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Embracing the Past, Understanding the Present, Creating the Future: Feminism and Midwifery

By Davies, D
on Thursday, 01 Apr 1999 in New Zealand College of Midwives Journal - Volume: 20

...While birthing is a natural phenomenon, the practices surrounding childbirth, the attitudes and values which accompany birth and childbirth knowledge are cultural, social and political phenomena. These cultural, social and political influences have evolved over time. The lives of midwives and women have been shaped and continue to be shaped by dominant and pervasive ideologies that have evolved historically. We are our histories.

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Postnatal Support Needs of First-Time Mothers: The Role of the Midwife

By Kerslake Hendricks, A
on Thursday, 01 Apr 1999 in New Zealand College of Midwives Journal - Volume: 20

We spent the first few days wondering what the hell we were doing - who could possibly give us this baby to look after when we had no idea what we were doing? I mean, you can be around kids, and can look after other people's kids, but I don't think anything can compare with having one 24 hours a day. The antenatal class really only takes you to birth, there's nothing - and no-one - that prepares you for what it's really like afterwards. [Theresa] Introduction: Great demands are placed on new parents following the birth of their first child, many for which they may be unprepared. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, most forms of antenatal preparation provide relatively little emphasis on the transition to parenthood and the resultant challenges likely to be faced. Consequently, first-time parents may have given only passing thought to the type of support they may need following the birth of their child, and how and where they will find this support... My goal in conducting the research (which formed the basis of a thesis for a Master of Arts (Applied) in Social Science Research) was to explore the formal and informal support made available to 12 first-time mothers.

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Open Letter to the National Health Committee

By Donley, J
on Thursday, 01 Apr 1999 in New Zealand College of Midwives Journal - Volume: 20

To Maggie Barry, Chair, Committee to lead Review of Maternity Services, National Health Committee. Re: Review of Maternity Services When the Minister of Health Bill English announced a review of the "fraught maternity services" to inquire into the inadequacies of the current system he made reference to the "debate between general practitioners and midwives". It is therefore important that you and your Committee understand the historical and political background to both the "debate" and the resultant "inadequacies".

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The psychological Sequelae of Abortion (Spontaneous and Induced) and Subsequent Pregnancies

By Milmine, C
on Thursday, 01 Apr 1999 in New Zealand College of Midwives Journal - Volume: 20

I ask the questions. She responds with her answers. I dutifully write them down, filling in the spaces on the antenatal booking sheet. I move quickly and smoothly from one category to another. I ask "Is this your first pregnancy?" "Tell me about your previous pregnancies." I prompt her to tell me about the dates, places of birth and periods of gestation. I do some simple additions and write 3/0 or 7/2, fractions that never look complete, and then turning the page I move on. But what memories have I ruffled or stirred? What dead pain have I reawakened only to ignore it and to move onto issues more tangible, more pressing, never to revisit the past because I have not given her permission, nor the space, nor a listening heart to share something of her grief and trauma with me. ...The advent of pregnancy, particularly a first pregnancy, is a catalyst for fundamental psychological change. When this change is interrupted by abortion, either spontaneous or induced, psychological sequelae results. Even though the circumstances may be very different for women who seek induced abortions as opposed to those who spontaneously abort, there are many similarities with the psychological symptoms experienced after the event.

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Be Aware of Price-Fixing Risks

By Pearse, J
on Thursday, 01 Apr 1999 in New Zealand College of Midwives Journal - Volume: 20

Midwives are increasingly aware of their legal responsibilities and risks under the diverse legislation that governs practice. It is no longer enough for a midwife just to maintain a reasonable standard of clinical practice. She must also comply with the law in areas of marketing, small business management and competition. These areas are quite new to midwives but ignorance of the law has never been an excuse for failing to obey its requirements.

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The Issue of Midwife Self Preservation

By Rolston, L
on Thursday, 01 Apr 1999 in New Zealand College of Midwives Journal - Volume: 20

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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Women-centred midwifery: partnerships or professional friendships?

By Pairman, S
on Sunday, 01 Nov 1998 in New Zealand College of Midwives Journal - Volume: 19

In 1995 Karen Guilliland and I published a monograph, The Midwifery partnership: a model for practice (Guilliland & Pairman, 1995). This monograph explored the development of the concept of midwifery as a partnership in New Zealand and presented a theoretical model to describe this partnership. The model arose from reflection on our personal experiences and practice as midwives, and our observations of, and discussions with, many other midwives and women. In 1996 I commenced a research study for a masters thesis and decided to further explore the nature of the relationship between midwives and women, this time using the experiences and perceptions of a small group of midwives and women. In this paper I will briefly discuss the methodology and methods used for the study and summarise the findings. I will then focus in greater depth the notions of partnership, friendship and professional friendship.

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