Standard Four: The midwife concludes the caregiving partnership with each woman responsibly. The NACPM member:
• Continues her partnership with the woman until that partnership is ended at the final postnatal visit or until she or the woman ends the partnership and the midwife documents same
• Ensures that the woman is educated to care for herself and her baby prior to discharge from midwifery care
• Ensures that the woman has had an opportunity to reflect on and discuss her childbirth experience
• Informs the woman and her family of available community support networks and refers appropriately.
Standard Five: The NACPM member collects and records the woman's and baby's health data, problems, decisions and plans comprehensively throughout the caregiving partnership. The NACPM member:
• Keeps legible records for each woman, beginning at the first formal contact and continuing throughout the caregiving relationship
• Does not share the woman's medical and midwifery records without her permission, except as legally required
• Reviews and updates records at each professional contact with the woman
• Includes the individual nature of each woman's pregnancy in her assessments and documentation
• Uses her assessments as the basis for on-going midwifery care
• Clearly documents her objective findings, decisions and professional actions
• Documents the woman's decisions regarding choices for care, including informed consent or refusal of care
• Makes records and other relevant information accessible and available at all times to the woman and other appropriate persons with the woman's knowledge and consent
• Files legal documents appropriately.
Standard Six: The midwife continuously evaluates and improves her knowledge, skills and practice in her endeavor to provide the best possible care. The NACPM member:
• Continuously involves the women for whom she provides care in the evaluation of her practice
• Uses feedback from the women she serves to improve her practice
• Collects her practice statistics and uses the data to improve her practice
• Informs each woman she serves of mechanisms for complaints and review, including the NARM peer review and grievance process
• Participates in continuing midwifery education and peer review
• May identify areas for research and may conduct and/or collaborate in research
• Shares research findings and incorporates these into midwifery practice as appropriate
• Knows and understands the history of midwifery in the United States
• Acknowledges that social policies can influence the health of mothers, babies and families; therefore, she acts to influence such policies, as appropriate.
V. Endorsement of Supportive Statements
NACPM members endorse the Midwives Model of Care ({ 1996-2004 Midwifery Task Force), the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative ({ 1996 Coalition for Improving Maternity Services) and the Rights of Childbearing Women ({ 1999 Maternity Center Association, Revised 2004). For the full text of each of these statements, please refer to the following web pages.
Copyright © 2004 National Association of Certified Professional Midwives, All Rights Reserved
