Philosophy, Knowledge, Skills and Evidence for Optimum Birth

This module aims to enhance your ability to support women and birthing people during labour to achieve optimal clinical outcomes and positive birth experiences. Through a diverse range of interactive learning activities, you will explore advanced knowledge and skills in optimal intrapartum care, guided by world-leading experts and informed by a variety of evidence-based sources.

You will reflect critically on approaches to support and optimise the physiological process of labour and birth, with a focus on improving safety, promoting autonomy, and enhancing service users’ experiences.

The practical components of this module will equip you with an advanced skillset, enabling you to confidently and competently facilitate optimal birth in any clinical environment promoting salutogenic practices.

The written assignment will guide you to identify and analyse your professional development needs, supporting your ongoing growth and continuous improvement in practice.

Facilitated by renowned researchers and practitioners, the programme integrates the latest evidence and innovative strategies to transform clinical practice and drive positive change in maternity services.

By the end of the module, you will produce an evidence-based Continuous Professional Development (CPD) plan aligned with your area of practice, focusing on the principles and implementation of Optimal Birth.

Highly interactive and forward-thinking, this module has been consistently praised by participants since its inception in 2016 for its approach and outstanding student feedback.

Who is it for?

• Clinicians working in any maternity settings who aim to enhance their knowledge and skills in physiological birth • Continuity of carer team members and team leaders • Service managers for midwifery services • Homebirth/birth centre midwives • Strategic senior managers for midwife-led settings • Consultant Midwives and aspiring Consultant Midwives • Labour ward coordinators.

Timetable

Term 3

Online Lecture: Tuesday 3rd June 2027

Full week of teaching (5 days): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 July 2027

Benefits

The key takeaway from this course is the development of your clinical, strategic thinking and service-improvement ability, enabling you to provide higher-quality maternity care.

What will I learn?

The course will enable students to achieve a range of evidence based, practical skills including:

• A critical analysis of the concept of optimal birth and optimal intrapartum care;
• Human rights approach to maternity care;
• Partnership in decision-making and women and birthing people’s autonomy;
• Critically examine practices which may introduce iatrogenic risks;
• Identify ways you can introduce salutogenic (interventions promoting well- being) practices into your own clinical practice and your midwifery culture;
• Critical thinking applied to decision-making in midwifery;
• Assessment of maternal and fetal wellbeing including intelligent intermittent auscultation;
• Escalation and transfer from midwife-led settings;
• Multi-disciplinary collaboration and positive organisational culture;
• Management of obstetric emergencies in midwife-led birth settings;
• Critical reflection on own practice and creation of a continuous professional development plan.

The course will enable students to achieve a range of evidence based, practical skills including:

• The integration of techniques and skills (including non-pharmacological techniques) to support women towards achieving optimal birth.
• Proficient fetal assessment of wellbeing using intermittent auscultation
• Management of obstetric emergencies in low risk birthing environments
• The synthesis of clinical safety with sensitivity to service users’ experience and choice
• How to design and create a model of practice that will enhance optimum birth in midwifery at service level, in line with recent government policies
• An understanding of the evidence that underpin best practice and the national quality agenda.

Learning

The course is delivered via a range of techniques, including distance learning preceding the intensive week of practical workshops, discussion groups (face-to-face and online), lectures, simulation and role-play. Students have access to a range of learning spaces including virtual and presential. Face-to-face learning will be facilitated in City’s state-of-the-art Clinical Skills Centre, our specialist Technology Enabled Care Studio City TECS, computer labs and classrooms.

Assessment

You will develop a comprehensive strategic plan for introducing a normality-enhancing innovation in practice and will write a 3,000-word report describing your strategic plan. You will actively participate in asynchronous, on-line learning activities through Moodle.

At the end of the week you will receive a participation certificate and on successful completion of the assignment you will obtain 15 Level 7 credits and/or a CPD certificate.

This course is provided by the School of Health & Medical Sciences.

Credits

This course is worth 15 credits toward eligible programmes.

Applicants would normally be expected to have been practicing in the field of maternity care for at least one year.

English requirements

For students whose first language or language of education is not English, the following qualifications will meet the English language requirement for entry to a postgraduate course of study:

• A first degree from a UK university
• OR A first degree from an overseas institution recognised by the University as providing adequate evidence of proficiency in the English language
• OR A degree from a “Majority English Speaking country” recognised by the University
• International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) – a minimum score of 6.5 is required
• OR Pearson Test of English (Academic) score 72 required
• OR Other evidence of proficiency in the English language, which satisfies the board of studies concerned.

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• Dahlen, H.G., Kennedy, H.P., Anderson, C.M., Bell, A.F., Clark, A., Foureur, M., Ohm, J.E., Shearman, A.M., Taylor, J.Y., Wright, M.L. and Downe, S., 2013. The EPIIC hypothesis: intrapartum effects on the neonatal epigenome and consequent health outcomes. Medical hypotheses, 80(5), pp.656-662.
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• Uvnäs-Moberg, K., Gross, M.M., Agius, A., Downe, S. and Calleja-Agius, J., 2020. Are there epigenetic oxytocin-mediated effects on the mother and infant during physiological childbirth?. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(24), p.9503.
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• Zang, Y., Lu, H., Zhao, Y., Huang, J., Ren, L. and Li, X., 2020. Effects of flexible sacrum positions during the second stage of labour on maternal and neonatal outcomes: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 29(17-18), pp.3154-3169.