Maltese mothers' perceptions of the midwife on the postnatal ward

Abstract

Postpartum care by midwives has been vastly researched and numerous changes have been implemented as a response to such research. Yet, a disparity between women's expectations of hospital postnatal care and the role of the midwife still exists (Ockleford, Berryman & Hsu, 2004). This study aims to explore Maltese mothers' perceptions of the midwife's role on the Postnatal Ward in a general state hospital. Qualitative data was collected through an audio-recorded, semi-structured interview with a purposive sample of 10 eligible, postpartum mothers recruited from the Postnatal Ward. Findings from this study indicate that participants perceived the midwife's role on the Postnatal Ward as important (especially with respect to the provision of information, psychological support and infant feeding). Participants perceived that one must not only assess skills required to deliver care, but also the attitudes with which such skills were delivered. Midwives' attributes were identified mainly indicating that midwives should ensure they show interest and helpfulness when delivering care. In general participants' perceptions in this study seemed to concur with findings from similar research studies conducted overseas. It was concluded that the midwife on the Postnatal Ward was herself an instrument of care, since her attributes contributed more than her performance of tasks. It was thus recommended that although knowledge of learned-skills was important, midwives needed to reflect on their own beliefs and attributes for excellence in practice to be achieved. However, since this was a small-scale study, findings may not have been generalisable.