Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Midwives’ experiences of professional learning when practicing collegial midwifery assistance during the active second stage of labour : data from the oneplus trial

Tern, Helena LU orcid ; Edqvist, Malin LU orcid ; Rubertsson, Christine LU and Ekelin, Maria LU (2024) In BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 24(1).
Abstract

Background: Learning is a lifelong process and the workplace is an essential arena for professional learning. Workplace learning is particularly relevant for midwives as essential knowledge and skills are gained through clinical work. A clinical practice known as ‘Collegial Midwifery Assistance’ (CMA), which involves two midwives being present during the active second stage of labour, was found to reduce severe perineal trauma by 30% in the Oneplus trial. Research regarding learning associated with CMA, however, is lacking. The aim was to investigate learning experiences of primary and second midwives with varying levels of work experience when practicing CMA, and to further explore possible factors that influence their learning.... (More)

Background: Learning is a lifelong process and the workplace is an essential arena for professional learning. Workplace learning is particularly relevant for midwives as essential knowledge and skills are gained through clinical work. A clinical practice known as ‘Collegial Midwifery Assistance’ (CMA), which involves two midwives being present during the active second stage of labour, was found to reduce severe perineal trauma by 30% in the Oneplus trial. Research regarding learning associated with CMA, however, is lacking. The aim was to investigate learning experiences of primary and second midwives with varying levels of work experience when practicing CMA, and to further explore possible factors that influence their learning. Methods: The study uses an observational design to analyse data from the Oneplus trial. Descriptive statistics and proportions were calculated with 95% confidence intervals. Stratified univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis were performed. Results: A total of 1430 births performed with CMA were included in the study. Less experienced primary midwives reported professional learning to a higher degree (< 2 years, 76%) than the more experienced (> 20 years, 22%). A similar but less pronounced pattern was seen for the second midwives. Duration of the intervention ≥ 15 min improved learning across groups, especially for the least experienced primary midwives. The colleague’s level of experience was found to be of importance for primary midwives with less than five years’ work experience, whereas for second midwives it was also important in their mid to late career. Reciprocal feedback had more impact on learning for the primary midwife than the second midwife. Conclusions: The study provides evidence that CMA has the potential to contribute with professional learning both for primary and second midwives, for all levels of work experience. We found that factors such as the colleague’s work experience, the duration of CMA and reciprocal feedback influenced learning, but the importance of these factors were different for the primary and second midwife and varied depending on the level of work experience. The findings may have implications for future implementation of CMA and can be used to guide the practice.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Feedback, Labour stage, Learning, Midwifery, Second stage, Severe perineal trauma, Skill acquisition
in
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
volume
24
issue
1
article number
287
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85190668550
  • pmid:38637732
ISSN
1471-2393
DOI
10.1186/s12884-024-06499-8
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e8441f1f-bd51-4967-ace6-a85e2e6a6e31
date added to LUP
2024-05-03 10:38:17
date last changed
2024-05-17 13:04:29
@article{e8441f1f-bd51-4967-ace6-a85e2e6a6e31,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Learning is a lifelong process and the workplace is an essential arena for professional learning. Workplace learning is particularly relevant for midwives as essential knowledge and skills are gained through clinical work. A clinical practice known as ‘Collegial Midwifery Assistance’ (CMA), which involves two midwives being present during the active second stage of labour, was found to reduce severe perineal trauma by 30% in the Oneplus trial. Research regarding learning associated with CMA, however, is lacking. The aim was to investigate learning experiences of primary and second midwives with varying levels of work experience when practicing CMA, and to further explore possible factors that influence their learning. Methods: The study uses an observational design to analyse data from the Oneplus trial. Descriptive statistics and proportions were calculated with 95% confidence intervals. Stratified univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis were performed. Results: A total of 1430 births performed with CMA were included in the study. Less experienced primary midwives reported professional learning to a higher degree (&lt; 2 years, 76%) than the more experienced (&gt; 20 years, 22%). A similar but less pronounced pattern was seen for the second midwives. Duration of the intervention ≥ 15 min improved learning across groups, especially for the least experienced primary midwives. The colleague’s level of experience was found to be of importance for primary midwives with less than five years’ work experience, whereas for second midwives it was also important in their mid to late career. Reciprocal feedback had more impact on learning for the primary midwife than the second midwife. Conclusions: The study provides evidence that CMA has the potential to contribute with professional learning both for primary and second midwives, for all levels of work experience. We found that factors such as the colleague’s work experience, the duration of CMA and reciprocal feedback influenced learning, but the importance of these factors were different for the primary and second midwife and varied depending on the level of work experience. The findings may have implications for future implementation of CMA and can be used to guide the practice.</p>}},
  author       = {{Tern, Helena and Edqvist, Malin and Rubertsson, Christine and Ekelin, Maria}},
  issn         = {{1471-2393}},
  keywords     = {{Feedback; Labour stage; Learning; Midwifery; Second stage; Severe perineal trauma; Skill acquisition}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth}},
  title        = {{Midwives’ experiences of professional learning when practicing collegial midwifery assistance during the active second stage of labour : data from the oneplus trial}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12884-024-06499-8}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s12884-024-06499-8}},
  volume       = {{24}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}