Work situation and professional role for midwives at a labour ward pre and post implementation of a midwifery model of care – A mixed method study

Purpose: To explore and analyse the experience of work situation and professional role for midwives at a labour ward pre and post the implementation of a midwifery model of care (MiMo). Methods: A simultaneous mixed method was used. The qualitative core component departed from three focus group interviews (n = 16 midwives). Secondary inductive and deductive content analysis was performed using an unconstrained matrix to make a corresponding comparison of the different time points. The supplemental component was a quantitative survey about the work situation (n = 58). Results: The qualitative results pre the implementation showed three categories: Balance between Women and Organization, Midwives—Diverse as both Profession and Person, and Strained Work Situation. Post the intervention they transformed to Balance between Midwifery and Organization, Midwives—An Adaptable Profession, Strained Work Situation, and a new category Ability to concretize midwifery was found. There were no significant differences in the measures of work situation in the quantitative analyses. Conclusions: The synthesized findings based on the qualitative part show that MiMo has a potential to strengthen the professional role and midwifery practice. As such, MiMo has the capability to offer benefits to the labour wards with additional considerations.