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Decision making

Iranian women's experiences of the episiotomy consent process: a qualitative study

This qualitative study was conducted using content analysis. A total of 20 primiparous or multiparous women who had an episiotomy were purposively selected for their diversity in terms of age, parity,...

The importance of the user voice in clinical decision making: a reflective account

When reflecting on the factors affecting the decision-making process, it is useful to consider decision-making theory. The dual processing theory suggests that thought process can be distinguished as...

A critical analysis of a tripartite clinical decision involving a student, midwife and client

Midwives often make clinical decisions with missing or ambiguous information, requiring skill and a degree of managed risk consideration (NHS, 2022) or trade off, as per Sherif et al's (1965) degrees...

Midwives' decision making during normal labour and birth: a decision making framework

All stages of this study were carried out by the author as part of a PhD study. To address the research aim of the study, to explore midwifery decision-making during normal labour and birth, an...

Caesarean section as an informed choice in the UK: a systematic review

The following databases were systematically searched for peer-reviewed, full text, primary research articles published between 1990 and 2020:.

Autonomy and its impact on midwifery practice

Autonomy is not a new concept in midwifery Although not explicit, the term autonomy has been embedded in the definition of a midwife (International Confederation of Midwives [ICM], 2011) Reiterated in...

Induction of labour: How do women get information and make decisions? Findings of a qualitative study

Induction of labour is one of the most frequently performed interventions in pregnancy, accounting for around 25% of all births in England (NHS Digital, 2017) Induction carries the risk of further...

Motivations and influences acting on women choosing a homebirth: Seeking a ‘cwtch’ birth setting

In the UK, only a small number of women have a homebirth Recent birth figures report that, on average, 23% of women gave birth at home in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2015)...

‘Once a caesarean, always a caesarean’? Challenging perceptions around vaginal birth after caesarean

The benefits and safety of vaginal birth after primary caesarean section (VBAC) is a subject of considerable interest to midwives, and one which this journal periodically revisits Some of this...

Decision-making in midwifery: A tripartite clinical decision

This paper aims to consider clinical decision-making within midwifery and critically analyse three decision-making approaches—the hypothetico-deductive approach, the intuitive-humanistic approach and...

Antiepileptic drug management during pregnancy: A shared decision approach

It is estimated that there are 81 500 women of childbearing potential (aged 12–50 years) in England with a diagnosis of epilepsy who are prescribed antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) (National Institute for...

Part 2: A model for evidence-based decision-making in midwifery care

This is the second part of a two-part paper in which a new model of evidence-based decision-making for midwifery is proposed In part 1, the case was made for a fit-for-purpose decision-making model on...

Part 1: A model for evidence-based decision-making in midwifery care

Decision-making in midwifery care differs from that of many other areas of health care Midwives work with primarily healthy women who are going through a normal physiological process, but also a...

Swimming against the tide: Women's experience of choosing a homebirth in Switzerland

There has been much discussion in recent years of the importance of women exercising their right to choose where to give birth (American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), 2011;...

Vaginal birth after caesarean or elective caesarean—What factors influence women's decisions?

Improving women's choice and control over their maternity care has been on the political agenda in the UK for over 20 years (Department of Health, 1993) An area where the issue of women's choice is...

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