Midwives' and nurses' experiences of providing postnatal care in partnership: A cross-sectional study

Problem: It is unknown whether the deployment of registered nurses to assist midwives in the provision of postnatal care eases the burden of workforce shortages.

Background: The largest public maternity health service in Western Australia began employing registered nurses in 2022 to assist midwives with the provision of postnatal care on maternity wards in response to staffing shortages, exacerbated by COVID-19.

Aim: To explore midwives' and registered nurses' experiences of providing postnatal care on maternity wards together.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a paper-based survey tool. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Content analysis was conducted on qualitative data.

Results: 70 staff participated (n= 58 midwives, n=12 nurses). Only 19.2 % of participants felt positively about their workload allocation. Most participants (62.7 %) reported a usual allocation of 6-7 mother-baby dyads to care for. Significantly more midwives preferred allocation by the shift coordinator than nurses; and significantly more nurses preferred 'team nursing' than midwives.

Discussion: Strategic approaches are needed to improve recruitment and retention of midwifery workforce capable of responding to periods of acute demands across the full scope of midwifery practice. Guidance concerning nurses' scope of practice in the postnatal setting is necessary from a professional, medico-legal, governance and safety standpoint.

Conclusion: The deployment of registered nurses into postnatal wards may be of some benefit to midwives in the context of workforce shortages. Parameters must be set outlining what is within nurses' scope of practice in the postnatal care setting.