Midwifery BSc (Hons)

This module is a skills-based module which students will be utilising in Midwifery practice placements with taught elements aligned to the Midwifery Ongoing Record of Achievement (MORA). 
This module will provide students with knowledge and understanding and practical skills in midwifery to be able to provide additional care for women/birthing people and neonates, including practising emergency midwifery skills. The students will be required to develop their skills in analysing and reflecting on clinical practice and self-assessment of progress. This module also focuses on developing knowledge on pharmacology in Midwifery Practice.

This module will provide the student with further insight to enhance understanding of providing safe & effective universal and additional midwifery care through increased complexity.

1. The definition of additional maternity care. Evidence informed additional care covering pre-conception and throughout antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal periods.  Knowledge of a range of pre-existing, emerging and emergency physical complications, their appropriate care and the potential impact on maternal morbidity and mortality.
2. Knowledge of how health, social and economic inequalities impact on holistic care provision, including cultural & spiritual factors. Influential factors in psychological wellbeing.
3. Introduction to care provision to optimise the safety of women[1] / birthing people with additional care needs in a range of settings and models of care (e.g. continuity of carer).    
4. Effective use of communication tools (e.g. SBAR) and advanced communication skills. The importance of sharing information across the interdisciplinary & multi-agency teams. Legal requirements regarding information sharing.

This module will provide the student with further insight to develop knowledge and understanding to examine and apply health protection strategies underpinning safe and effective universal and additional care through increased complexity.

1. Examination of effective planning and provision of care for women[1] / birthing people with additional needs, through collaboration and communication by the midwife with the interdisciplinary and multiagency team.
2. Investigation of the effects of complex additional needs on holistic care, including infant feeding.
3. Understanding of how midwives maintain universal care provision for women with additional complex care needs.
4. Knowledge of the principles of informed choice and the related law and how midwives use evidence-based information to support and advocate for women’s choices.

Investigation of underlying complex personal, social or cultural circumstances and their potential impact throughout the woman’s life course in relation to optimising health and well-being while minimising morbidity and mortality.

This module will provide the students with the knowledge to provide universal and additional care for newborns, and preparation for undertaking the NIPE. This module will equip the students with the following essential requisite theory:

1. Anatomy, physiology and epigenetics of fetal development and adaptation to extra-uterine life. Examination of the physiology of conditions that may affect the newborn infant, their identification across different ethnicities, and their implications, providing individualised holistic care for those with and without additional complex health, socio-cultural needs through the early postnatal period.
2. Awareness of the systematic examination of the newborn infant and the process of collaboration with, and referral to the interdisciplinary and multiagency teams, in accordance with NIPE standards and in-line with current evidence-based practice.
3. Importance of history taking and developing the ability to utilise pre-examination information and recognition of significant factors and events in the prenatal, antenatal and intrapartum periods that may impact neonatal outcome, including safeguarding.
4. Introduction to recognition of professional responsibility and accountability whilst conducting the NIPE; NIPE screening for conditions related to eyes, heart, hips and testes and the provision of evidence-based information for parents; the process of disseminating results and provision of counselling to women1/birthing people and their families.
5. Provision of authentic and meaningful communication incorporating advocacy and sensitive conversations relating to newborn infant and health education including infant feeding advice and support.

This module will facilitate you to explore the principles of evidence-based practice in detail. You will consider the value of interprofessional collaboration, and foundational research skills. It explores how integrating research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values improves healthcare outcomes, and prepares students to contribute to service improvement through collaborative, research-informed approaches.

Indicative content 

1. Problem solving within an interprofessional context, including evidence-based decision-making, hierarchies of knowledge and service user perspectives.
2. Interprofessional learning and collaboration: Remit, roles and responsibilities; sharing knowledge in health and social care.
3. Research: literature searching across evidence bases, research appraisal and critical thinking, ethics and governance.
4. Service improvement and innovation methodologies: audit, quality assurance, evaluation, continuous improvement, clinical governance, service user co-production.
5. Drivers influencing interprofessional health and social care: organisational and national policy, socio-political and economic drivers.

This module is a skills-based module which students will be utilising in Midwifery practice placements with taught elements aligned to the Midwifery Ongoing Record of Achievement (MORA). 

This module will provide students with knowledge and understanding of advancing additional care needs in midwifery practice, recognising and leading on the management of care provision and practising advanced midwifery skills, including consolidation of knowledge on pharmacology in Midwifery.

This module will provide students with the critical knowledge and understanding of providing safe and effective universal and additional midwifery care and how this underpins midwifery practice. It will prepare students for their professional role as a midwife through critical examination of increasing complexity of cases. This will allow students to develop their skills of working in partnership with women, their families, interdisciplinary and multiagency colleagues to provide holistic, individualised and family centred care (including infant feeding) in the most challenging of circumstances. Using case-based learning, the module will equip the students with the following essential theory:

1. Detailed examination of optimal, evidence-based and research informed care, throughout the maternity index to pre-empt, recognise and respond appropriately to pre-existing, emerging and emergency complications of physical, emotional and social conditions of the most vulnerable women / birthing people.
2. Building on the knowledge of diverse social circumstances, through use of cultural and emotional intelligence to support and work with families in stressful and difficult situations.
3. In-depth consideration of optimal evidence-based, research informed planning of care for women and/or partners and families experiencing mental perinatal illness and following traumatic experiences. Exploration of the role of collaboration with interdisciplinary and multi-agency teams in these circumstances to develop strategies to contribute to compassionate, safe and effective practice.
4. Development of knowledge and reflection on practice experiences to facilitate working in partnership with interdisciplinary and multiagency teams to plan, implement and evaluate compassionate, respectful, empathetic and dignified midwifery care for women and/or partners and their families experiencing perinatal loss or severe maternal morbidity or mortality.
5. Exploration of the approaches and techniques available to the 21st century midwife to recognise and address personal, physical, cultural & emotional vulnerability in themselves, colleagues and those they care for: building strategies for strength-based approaches for compassionate care of self and others.
6. Critical appraisal skills - the process of examining, interpreting and assessing research informed evidence using a systematic approach and how this informs a literature review.

This module will provide students with the knowledge and understanding of professionalism and how this underpins midwifery practice. It will prepare students for their professional role as a midwife through critical examination of professionalism. Using related cases relevant to practice, situational learning and reflection, the module will equip the students with the following essential theory:

1. Examination of management and leadership styles and skills and their potential to support and promote safe, effective & collaborative provision of care for women[1] / birthing people and families and colleagues across the interdisciplinary team.
2. Building on personal professional identity, evaluation of the role of individual and collaborative management of complexities and continuous quality improvement in the provision of effective and person- centred safe care for all.
3. Examination of continuous professional development in midwifery through development of skills of research, reflection, collaboration and application of scholarly activities to support and promote evidence-based improvements in practice building on the University philosophy of the Citizen Student.
4. Consolidation of the skills and knowledge developed so far in relation to the responsibilities of autonomous and accountable practice: professional issues, evidence-based practice, NMC Standards, proficiencies and the scope of practice.
5. Development of knowledge of the theory and practical elements of supervising and supporting students in practice, giving feedback, and assessing students (including documentation).

Additionally, an exploration of the approaches and techniques available to the 21st century midwife will be utilised to recognise and address personal, physical, cultural & emotional vulnerability in themselves, colleagues and those they care for, building strategies for strength-based approaches for compassionate care of self and others.

This module will provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills to able to effectively undertake and be proficient in conducting the full systematic examination of the newborn. It will expand on the students’ knowledge and skills, promoting a consolidated understanding of the full systematic examination of the newborn in readiness for their role as a skilled and autonomous practitioner. This module will equip the students with the following essential requisite theory:

1. Recognition of professional responsibility and accountability whilst conducting the full systematic examination of the newborn; proficiency in disseminating results, information and provision of person centered conversations to women/birthing people and their families.
2. Expertise in the systematic examination of the newborn infant and the requirements for appropriate referral to, and collaboration with the interdisciplinary and multi-agency teams, in accordance with full systematic examination of the newborn standards and in-line with current evidence-based practice; Detailed and specific knowledge and skills of the full systematic examination of the newborn to include the eyes, heart, hips and testes; History taking and ability to utilise pre-examination information and recognition of significant factors in the antenatal period and events during the intrapartum period that may impact neonatal outcome, including safeguarding.
3. Detailed anatomy, physiology and epigenetics of fetal development and adaptation to extra-uterine life in the context of the systematic examination of the newborn.
4. Provision of authentic, meaningful and culturally appropriate communication incorporating advocacy and sensitive conversations relating to newborn infant and health education, and infant feeding advice and support.