Skills-based childbirth preparation reduces stress for midwives.

OBJECTIVE: to explore the potential benefits of skills-based childbirth preparation on the work related stress levels of midwives.

DESIGN: a questionnaire was sent out to midwives who had clients participating in an RCT of an education package for childbirth preparation (The Pink Kit (PK) Method for Birthing Better®) delivered to parents.

SETTING: midwives were in private practice and acted as lead maternity carers to New Zealand first time mothers.

PARTICIPANTS: one hundred and four independent midwives participated.

MEASUREMENTS: a brief questionnaire using a Visual Analogue Scale to portray perceptions of work-related stress and a yes/no question about expected and/or unexpected physical complications.

FINDINGS: midwives working with clients in the intervention group experienced less work-related stress after correction for medical complications compared to the two control groups.

KEY CONCLUSIONS: working with mothers who have used a programme that increased their childbirth self-efficacy decreased the work-related stress experienced by midwives.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: encouraging pregnant women to develop childbirth skills merits further investigation in an effort to reduce the work-related stress experienced by midwives.