Professional autonomy for midwives in the contemporary UK maternity system: part 2

Professionalisation, the midwifery profession and professional autonomy are explored from a sociological perspective to answer the title question. Within part-one the obstetric influences and frictions, government policy and guidelines, risk, litigation and increasing managerialisation were considered, highlighting the complexities of professional midwifery and the challenges it faces. In part-two choice, service pressures, evidence-based care, consumerism, leadership and reflexive practice are considered in an attempt to navigate professional autonomy with the intention of retaining women’s choice as the core belief of the profession. A conceptual framework has been devised to enable this utilising the concept New Professional Midwifery. The object of this work is to keep women’s choice as the central aim.