Assessing the midwifery workforce demand: Utilising Birthrate Plus in China.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the ability of the Birthrate Plus Workforce Planning Methodology (BR+) to forecast midwifery workforce demand in Chinese settings.

DESIGN: A retrospective analysis of medical records.

SETTING: ten hospitals in Beijing District.

METHODS: Hospitals were selected using stratified sampling methods. The client category and midwife hours in each hospital were analysed over 1 month in consecutive three years (2013, 2014, and 2015).

FINDINGS: Client category allocation varied between different hospital levels; Clients in higher category tended to need longer midwife hours; Mean birthrate of the ten hospitals was 154.30 (SD=40.700). Seven out of the ten hospitals were in need of more midwives.

CONCLUSIONS: Birthrate Plus was proved to be effective and efficient in Chinese settings; Gaps between available and needed midwives were large and prevalent in Chinese hospitals.