Childbearing women's experiences of midwives' workplace distress: Patient and public involvement

Abstract

Background Some midwives experience work-related psychological distress. This can reduce the quality and safety of maternity services, yet there are few interventions to support midwives. Aim To explore and voice the perceptions of new mothers in relation to the barriers to receiving high-quality maternity care, the psychological wellbeing of midwives and the development and evaluation of an online intervention designed to support them. GRIPP2 reporting checklists were also used to demonstrate how patient and public involvement works in research. Methods A co-design approach was used in a discussion group to collect qualitative data from 10 participants. A framework approach was used for analysis. Findings Unique findings included midwives crying, becoming emotional and seeking support from service users. Overall, seven patient and public involvement outcomes relating to intervention development and data collection were identified. Conclusion Maternity service improvement strategies may only be wholly effective once they include the provision of effective midwifery workplace support.