Midwives' views on redefining midwifery 2: public health

This is the second of four papers focusing on the expanding role of midwives. The first paper published last month, explored midwives' views of their role in health promotion. This paper focuses on midwives' views of their contribution to the public health strategy. The main findings suggest that, generally, midwives recognise and support a public health role. Over half of the midwives surveyed said they had a role in child protection; promoting effective parenting skills, informing young people about healthy lifestyle choices, providing well-women clinics, targeting vulnerable groups and promoting sexual health. Many midwives acknowledged the need for multiprofessional collaborations. Training was an important and consistent issue.