Practical, evidence-based and grounded in woman-centred care, Skills for Midwifery Practice Australia and New Zealand 3rd edition is the essential clinical skills guide for midwifery students across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Written by an experienced team of Australian and New Zealand midwifery educators, this comprehensive text provides clear guidance on more than 110 midwifery skills across pregnancy, labour and birth, and postnatal care. Each skill is presented in a logical, step-by-step format, supported by concise theory and evidence explaining the physiology and clinical reasoning that underpin safe, confident practice.
Aligned with the NMBA (Australia) Midwife Standards for Practice and the Midwifery Council (New Zealand) Midwifery Scope of Practice and Standards of Competence, the text reflects current guidelines, policies, terminology and medication administration requirements. Models of care-including continuity of care and the lead maternity carer models-are integrated throughout, with a strong emphasis on supporting physiological birth.
Midwife wellbeing and self-care are recognised as essential components of sustainable practice.
New to this edition
- New chapters on breech support, emergency skills in labour and birth, and communication and collaboration
- Updated terminology reflecting contemporary woman-centred care
- Increased focus on normalising and supporting physiological birth
Trusted by educators and valued by students, this text prepares you to provide safe, respectful and evidence-informed care across the childbearing continuum
- Step-by-step guidance for over 110 essential clinical skills
- Full-colour photographs and illustrations to support visual learning
- Woman-centred approach integrated throughout
- Australia/New Zealand-specific guidelines, statistics and standards
- Dedicated chapter on communication and collaboration
Table of Contents
PART 1 GENERAL SKILLSSection 1 Principles of infection control
- Standard precautions and hand hygiene
- Asepsis
- Principles of hygiene needs
- Temperature
- Pulse
- Respiration
- Blood pressure
- Neurological assessment
- Screening tests
- Venepuncture
- Cannulation
- Obtaining swabs
- Use of speculum and VE
- Capillary sampling
- Micturition and catheterisation
- Urine samples
- Defecation and stool specimens
- Medication administration: legal aspects, pharmacology and anaphylaxis
- Oral
- Per vaginam
- Per rectum
- By injection
- Intravenous medications and intravenous therapy
- Blood and iron transfusion
- Inhalation
- Epidural and spinal anaesthesia/analgesia
Section 6 Skills for supporting antenatal wellbeing (RETITLE)
- Building a therapeutic relationship
- Abdominal examination during pregnancy
- Interprofessional working to optimise women’s antenatal care
- Facilitation of learning in expectant and new parents
Section 7 Principles of intrapartum skills: first-stage issues
- Skills for labour
- Abdominal examination during labour
- Membrane sweep
- assessment of fetal wellbeing
- Fetal blood sampling
- Non-pharmacological pain relief
- Water immersion for labour and birth
- Birth at home
- Supporting women with a baby in the breech position
- Birth skills
- Care of the perineum before and during birth
- Assisted and operative birth
- Maternal and newborn resuscitation
- Emergency skills during labour and birth
- Birth of the placenta
- Postpartum haemorrhage
- Examination and repair of the genital tract following birth
Section 11 Skills for optimising the woman’s and baby’s physiological wellbeing
- Promoting physiological stability in the mother-baby dyad immediately after normal term birth
- Caring for a woman after a caesarean section
- Caring for the baby’s physiological wellbeing after birth
- Supporting the woman to initiate breastfeeding
- Supporting the woman who needs to bottle feed
Section 13 Skills for working safely
- Self-care
- Manual handling
- Workplace health and safety
- Skills for communication and collaboration
Authors
Sally-Ann De-Vitry Smith RN, RM, PhDNational Program Manager, ANFPP
Adjunct Senior Lecturer
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health
Charles Sturt University (Wagga Wagga), NSW,
Australia Clare Davison Endorsed Midwife in Private Practice and Midwifery Academic, Roleystone, WA, Australia. Robyn Maude Interim Head of Programme for Midwifery, Samoan Grow Our Own Nursing and Midwifery Programme Lead, School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Practice, Faculty of Health, Victoria University of Wellington.
