Dilemmas and Decision Making in Midwifery

Book excerpt: This book teaches students and educators in the midwifery field how to tackle dilemmas and decision making. Combining theory and practice, and promoting critical thinking, this book provides key knowledge alongside case studies of how to approach real-life dilemmas in midwifery. Written and edited by experts in the field, this book gives midwives and student midwives the opportunity to experience a systematic approach to facing dilemmas and decision making through the use of clinical scenarios. This is done in a safe space through an annotated thinking aloud framework where students and educators can have open discussions. Student midwives and practitioners are given the opportunity to explore professional dilemmas they might not have witnessed and uncover new theories that will influence future decisions. Linked to the 2019 NMC Standards for Midwifery, this book is essential reading for all stages of the midwifery career including those supporting students, coordinating care teams and those supporting multi-cultural communities. The midwives' personal reflections explore best practice and take account of other professional perspectives, including facilitators and barriers to interdisciplinary working. Learners will be able to consider a number of factors including concepts and theories, ethics and legal accountability, to explore how they interplay in making decisions.