Starting Life as a Midwife

This volume explores the unique challenges midwifery graduates face as they move into practice. It identifies the similarities and differences in midwifery education, regulation, and clinical practice faced by graduate midwives in all continents, examining the various support systems available for graduate midwives in many countries, and identifying the common strategies (formal and informal) and approaches that have proved to be effective in supporting midwifery graduates. The book volume brings together the experiences of new midwives starting out in registered practice, to share the challenges and triumphs during their transition to confident practitioners. It identifies, explains and details both established and innovative new mechanisms in place to support new midwives in each country, and examines the effects the experiences of transitioning to practice may have on future professional practice, resilience and sustainability. Lack of support duringthe new-graduate transition to practice has been associated with early attrition from the midwifery profession. Stress, disillusion, and horizontal violence have been identified as factors that influence midwifery attrition rates. Exploration of the various support mechanisms currently available in different countries may stimulate the sharing of best practices in providing new midwives with transition to practice programmes and generate further research. Each chapter is harmonized to facilitate the comparison between countries, and the maternity services context is explained using each country’s specific legislation, regulation and registration of midwives. The preparation of midwifery students for qualified practice is outlined to explain how midwifery students are trained and socialized into the profession, mentored in their placements and then transitioned to registered midwife status. This book appeals to midwives, managers, educators, and newly graduated interested in international midwifery practice.