Midwives’ perceptions of being ‘with woman’: a phenomenological study

Table 1 Models of midwifery labour and birth care in Western Australia

	Unknown Midwife (UM)	Unknown Midwife Known Obstetrician (UMKO)	Known Midwife (KM)
	Public Obstetric-led Midwifery Care	Private Obstetric-led Midwifery Care	Public Midwifery Group Practice (MGP)	Public Community Midwifery Program (CMP)	Privately Practicing Midwife (PPM)
	Woman attends hospital where labour care is usually^a provided by an unknown midwife	Woman attends hospital where labour care is provided by an unknown midwife managed by the woman’s known obstetrician	Woman contacts her known midwife and prepares for birth in planned place	Woman contacts her known midwife and prepares for birth in planned place	Woman contacts her known midwife and prepares for birth in planned place
Woman’s Planned Place of Birth
Public Hospital	X	X	X	X	X
Private Hospital		X
Public Birth Centre			X	X
Planned Home Birth			X	X	X
Freestanding Birth Centre			X	X	X

^aIn some smaller rural or secondary public hospitals, it is possible that the midwife may provide antenatal care and serendipitously provide labour and birth care and so there may be opportunity for relationship, it is estimated that this would account for < 1% women in this model
Summarised data from WA Department of Health ‘Having a Baby’ [39]

ISSN: 1471-2393