A narrative review of fathers' involvement during labour and birth and their influence on decision making.

OBJECTIVE: to identify and critically review the research literature that has examined fathers׳ involvement during labour and birth and their influence on decision making. DESIGN: the review follows the approach of a narrative review. Systematic searches of electronic databases Social Services Abstract, Sociological Abstracts, ASSIA, CINAHL Medline, Cochrane library, AMED, BNI, PsycINFO, Embase, Maternity and Infant care, DH-Data and the Kings Fund Database were combined with manual searches of key journals and reference lists. Studies published between 1992 and 2013 examining fathers׳ involvement during intrapartum care were included in the review. FINDINGS: the findings of this review suggest that fathers׳ level of involvement during labour ranges from being a witness or passive observer of labour and birth to having an active supporting and coaching role. The findings also suggest that there are a number of facilitators and barriers to fathers׳ involvement during labour and birth. There are a limited number of studies that have examined fathers׳ involvement in decision making and specifically how fathers׳ influence decision making during labour and birth. KEY CONCLUSIONS: future research needs to address the gap in the literature regarding fathers׳ involvement and influence on decision making to help midwives and obstetricians understand the process in order enhance the transition to parenthood for women and men.

An exploration of the perceived factors that affect the learning and transfer of skills taught to student midwives.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: the aim of this study was to examine the attitudes of student midwives towards skills training and practise. The objectives were to explore the factors in the skills laboratory environment and in clinical practice which affect how successfully student midwives transfer into clinical practice the various skills they have learnt in preparation for an Objective Structured Clinical Examination. BACKGROUND: a review of the background literature revealed that there were many variables related to successful transfer of skills in general but there appeared to be a gap around perceived factors affecting transfer of skills of student midwives. DESIGN: a mixed methods design was conducted using both questionnaires and semi-structured interviews between June and August 2010. DATA SOURCES: questionnaires were administered to all midwifery students at one university in Wales. These were later followed by semi-structured interviews for 6 student midwives who were purposively selected from all year groups. FINDINGS: the results from the questionnaires revealed that a majority of students had positive attitudes to educators and mentors and to their skills acquisition experience in the skills laboratory and to the available opportunities to practise in clinical practice. Although students believed in the transferability of skills from the laboratory setting to clinical practice, a majority thought that clinical practice provided them with a better opportunity to learn clinical skills. The semi-structured interviews demonstrated that facilitating factors in the skills laboratory included having adequate instruction as well as having a designated space. Hindering factors included unrealistic models and equipment. In clinical practice, facilitating factors included having the opportunities to practise skills and support and feedback from the mentor. Hindering factors included deficits in the student-mentor relationship. CONCLUSIONS: this study highlighted that midwifery students must be adequately prepared to carry out clinical skills competently and effectively. Educators and mentors must provide adequate support and feedback to promote transfer of knowledge and skills into the workplace to optimise high standards of care for women and their babies.