A consultant midwife's community clinic

Abstract

Midwives have a unique role within public health and are described as public health practitioners (Royal College of Midwives, RCM, 2000). Evidence or acknowledgement of the midwife's role in public health is not always apparent. In this article, a consultant midwife with a special interest in public health presents the findings of a community clinic. The focus of care is health promotion, with emerging public health themes including domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, traumatic childbirth, mental ill health and maternal request for caesarean section. The findings highlight the popularity and increasing uptake of the service provided and present an opportunity for health promotion research.