Midwifery caseload
Identifying and definitional attributes | |
Metadata item type: | Glossary Item |
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| Synonymous names: | Midwifery group practice; Midwifery continuity of carer |
| METEOR identifier: | 562448 |
| Registration status: |
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| Definition: | A model of maternity care where women have a primary midwife assigned to them throughout pregnancy, labour and birth and the postnatal period. Each midwife has an agreed number (caseload) of women per year and acts as a second or "back-up" midwife for women who have another midwife as their primary carer. Caseload midwives usually work on a 24-hour on-call basis (this may be organised within a group) and may be employed on an annualised salary. This is also known as a midwifery continuity of carer model of care and may be a private or public arrangement. Midwifery caseload may be managed within a midwifery group practice model where a small number of midwives join together in a group with each midwife having their own caseload and providing backup for the other midwives in the group practice. A key aspect of caseload midwifery practice that differentiates it from ‘team midwifery’ models is that women have a named midwife, caseload midwives have a self-managed workload that is outside of a traditional roster structure and provides a high level of continuity of a known carer across the continuum of maternity care. Note that this is different to team midwifery. |
Source and reference attributes | |
| Submitting organisation: | National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit |
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| Reference documents: | Homer C, Brodie P & Leap N. 2008. Getting started: what is midwifery continuity of care? in Midwifery Continuity of Care. Chatswood: Elsevier Australia, 1-24 |
Relational attributes | |
| Metadata items which use this glossary item: | Maternity model of care NBPDS
Maternity model of care—midwifery caseload indicator
Maternity model of care—midwifery caseload indicator, yes/no code N
Maternity model of care—midwifery caseload size
Maternity model of care—midwifery caseload size, number N[NN]
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