Save my place! The impact of working environments.

Working environments ultimately shape and influence all that we do as maternity care professionals. The place in which we work becomes a large part of our lives, and the influences around us shape our professional ethos and practice. Limited research surrounds this 'hidden'aspect of maternity care, yet the phenomenon is real. For some, the work place represents a duty, a calling, an escape, a sanctuary; yet at times it can seem limiting, frustrating and a challenging place to be. It is important to consider how working environments for front-line practitioners affect working practices and experiences. To empower women, we ourselves must be empowered to create a positive working environment for ourselves and our colleagues.

EMPOWER! Empowering mothers, providing options with education and relaxation.

Most women within their lifetime will experience pregnancy, birth and motherhood. Despite this almost universal experience, the process is far from uniform. Throughout the childbirth continuum, expectations and experiences of women are diverse and ever-changing (van Teijlingen et al 2017). THis article explores an innovative idea, well placed within this 'Shiny roads' edition of The Practising Midwife. It explores the birth of the EMPOWER project within a NHS trust. EMPOWER was developed to empower mothers and provide options, education and relaxation for pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period.

Catheterisation: best practice in bladder care.

Bladder care is an integral part of caring for a woman in labour and the immediate postpartum period (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) 2014a). To ensure effective bladder care, the skill of urinary catheterisation is often undertaken by a midwife and can be required in a variety of different situations. Catheterisation is a necessary intervention whether it is intermittent, indwelling, short-term or, less often, long-term. This article addresses the current recommended guidance, highlights best practice measures and provides useful hints and tips to support catheter care.

8. Resilience and self-preservation; taking care of one another.

Preceptorship is the 15th series of 'Midwifery basics' targeted at practising midwives. The aim of these articles is to provide information to raise awareness of the impact of the work of midwives on women's experience, and encourage midwives to seek further information through a series of activities relating to the topic. In this final article in the preceptorship basics series, Kerry Taylor and Megan Blease look at the importance of resilience, self-preservation and taking care of one another. Embarking on a career in midwifery can be a stressful, isolating and challenging time. This article considers the stresses of providing modern maternity care, taking into consideration personal values, qualities and coping strategies. They address the challenges of workplace culture, the importance of building each other up and of caring for ourselves in order to effectively care for others.

7. Perineal suturing.

Preceptorship is the 15th series of 'Midwifery basics' targeted at practising midwives. The aim of these articles is to provide information to raise awareness of the impact of the work of midwives on women's experience, and encourage midwives to seek further information through a series of activities relating to the topic. During the transition from student midwife, the newly qualified practitioner (NQM) is required to obtain experience of perineal suturing. With exposure varying from student to student and inconsistency in teaching methods between hospital trusts, the NQM can be left feeling apprehensive and unsupported to learn this skill. Suturing is a major and sometimes traumatic event for childbearing women, whose experience can vary greatly, depending upon many factors, including environment, skill of those suturing, effective analgesia and waiting times. In this penultimate article of the series, Megan Blease and Kerry Taylor address the current issues and provide learning hints and tips for NQMs learning and practising the skill.

Being a preceptor - rewarding yet challenging.

Preceptorship is the 15th series of 'Midwifery basics' targeted at practising midwives.The aim of these articles is to provide information to raise awareness of the impact of the work of midwives on women's experience, and encourage midwives to seek further information through a series of activities relating to the topic. In this third article of the series, Kerry Taylor and Megan Blease look into the role of the preceptor and the value it offers newly qualified midwives, with key recommendations to help trusts support preceptors in this acquired role.