Midwifery Practice

The word midwife cradles the definition “with woman”. Midwifery is a collaborative profession that prides its self on autonomy. This essay will explore midwifery within New Zealand focusing on the midwife and professional partnership. Voiced within this assignment is an understanding of the scope of midwifery practice. This paper delves into the roles of the Midwifery Council of New Zealand and the New Zealand College of Midwives and explains the functions they hold with regulation and support with midwifery care. Furthermore, this essay looks into the midwifery partnership and the relevance of Nga Maia Maori Midwives and the Treaty of Waitangi 1840, and its underpinnings in a midwifery context.

Pregnancy is a unique intimate relationship between

All frameworks within midwifery contain and express the importance of partnership when working with women, whanau, colleagues and other health professionals. Most importantly though is that the partnership between a woman and midwife is women-centred. One important aspect is that of Turanga Kaupapa. Turanga Kaupapa is a guideline of values pertinent to Maori culture and is a valuable resource for midwives when working with Tangata whenua. The guidelines of Turanga Kaupapa are complementary to the ethical statements and standards of practice (New Zealand College of Midwives, 2015b, p.2). Nga Maia Maori Midwives o Aotearoa are the body of recognition for Maori ways of birthing, it was them who crafted Turanga Kaupapa in 2006, and was adopted by the college in 2007 and interwoven into the standards for practice (Guilliland & Pairman, 2010, p.

It is through these principles of Partnership, Protection, and participation that allow Maori to practice traditional methods in terms of health (McKinney & Smith, 2005, p.48-49).

Carrying-out research around midwifery partnership I have gained a clearer insight into the importance of the relationship between women and midwives and can assert that partnership can be pinned to the code of ethics which state examples of a midwife's responsibilities to the women, wider community, colleagues and profession. Through these theoretical concepts, a midwife is able to create, maintain, and enhance relationships through trust and empowerment.

In conclusion, this essay provided and understanding of the scope of practice and its relevance to the midwifery profession as well as, the roles in how midwifery is regulated and supported by the Midwifery Council of New Zealand and The New Zealand College of Midwives. Further highlighted was the importance of partnerships between mothers and midwives and the aspects of Nga Maia and the Treaty of Waitangi 1840 and how these support the midwifery