A review of the definition and scope of practice of midwives in five representative countries
Article Category: Review Article
Published Online: Oct 25, 2018
Page range: 165 - 173
Received: Nov 27, 2017
Accepted: Feb 21, 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/fon-2018-0022
Keywords
© 2018 Jie Li et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.
Objective
To review the definition and scope of the practice of midwives in Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia to find models and make suggestions for reforms in the midwifery policies of China.
Methods
This article reviewed the midwifery policies published by authorities, organizations, and governments of these countries and relevant literature in the databases of PubMed, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang database.
Results
The definition and scope of practice of midwives in five representative countries and China were reviewed. The similarities and differences in midwifery policies among them show that most countries set standards based on the definition and scope of practice of midwives recommended by International Confederation of Midwives.
Conclusions
The definition of midwives should include registration, midwifery education, and acceptance standards. The scope of practice of midwives should specify an autonomous environment, the objective of care, the period of care involved, prescribing rights, emergency treatment, and health counseling.