Midwifery and Sexuality

This first open-access book on midwifery and sexuality integrates sexual health into the care for the pregnant and postpartum couple. It addresses sexuality and intimacy from an education and prevention perspective instead of just focusing on treating problems, aiming to foster the development of sexual well-being and happy couplehood. Sexuality and intimacy are essential elements in the bonding of the couple and the parents-to-be. That process can be seriously hampered by sexual problems due to mutual misunderstanding, fear and sexual troubles (especially when the natural processes of conceiving, pregnancy and delivery are disturbed). In this phase of life, disruption of intimacy, sexuality and sexual relationship is a significant risk factor for developing couple and family problems. The need for such a book stems from the very limited attention given to this health area in the daily practice of most midwives and related healthcare professionals. In building a close relationship with the couple through frequent, intense, longstanding contact, the midwife acquires a perfect position to address sexuality and intimacy. With 36 authors from 14 countries, the book comprises five modules: 1. Sexuality; 2. Sexual aspects of the various phases of reproduction when things develop without complications; 3. Sexual aspects when those same phases deviate from physiology; 4. Special topics on sexuality relevant to daily midwifery practice; 5. Teaching, learning, skills and competencies with regard to sexuality. This new practical textbook guides healthcare professionals such as midwives, obstetricians, gynaecologists, nurses, general practitioners, pelvic floor therapists, etc., by offering both basic knowledge and skills on sexual health and wellbeing, combined with modern sexological knowledge, like the entirely new topic of sexual aspects of preconception care.</p

Various Sexual Consequences of Interventions in Midwifery Practice

Many different elements influence sexuality and intimacy. Whereas some elements are entirely outside obstetric care, others are directly related to what happens in contact with the midwife. This chapter deals with the consequences (the ‘sexual side effects’) of what the midwife is doing or not doing. It focuses more on behaviour and attitude than on the ‘medical or technical’ aspects. The chapter will discuss possible sexual implications of the midwife’s daily work, incorporating the sexuality theme with attention to body integrity, boundaries, and respect. The chapter will provide part of the information in the form of questions for exercises related to the professional attitude in daily midwife practice. It will also include some aspects of personal involvement in the care of the woman and the couple. A midwife is also a person with sexual feelings, most probably with a sexual life and maybe a sexual relationship. Many HCPs tend not to consider those realities related to their work. However, they can significantly impact when the positive and negative aspects of their clients’ intimacy and sexuality intensely or repeatedly confront the midwife. This chapter is part of ‘Midwifery and Sexuality’, a Springer Nature open-access textbook for midwives and related healthcare professionals.</p

Izzivi za kakovostno izobraževanje v pripravi na porod in starševstvo

The article presents an overview and analysis of current practices in antenatal classes in Slovenia. The findings of the recent study show that organizational changes and changes in the content are needed in this field. Authors firstly present the interdisciplinary issues of midwifery, obstetrics and family andragogy and link them with factors affecting efficiency of parenthood education, according to different models of education. It is established that Slovenian antenatal education has a rich history; however, recent foreign innovations are being adopted only slowly. Models of care that promote individualized continuous midwifery care during pregnancy, birth and postpartum period are becoming a standard practice abroad. They require a new approach to parenthood preparation. In order to test the model of continuity of midwifery care in the Slovenian context, a pilot study was carried out in 2010. The project Healthy Women – Healthy Families involved antenatal classes that were run according to contemporary guidelines of best practice. An interdisciplinary approach was adopted to address all the needs of women and their partners in the tran- sition to parenthood. This was the first attempt to innovate the current approach of parentcraft educational programmes in Slovenia. The participants of the project expressed a high level of satisfaction with continuity of midwifery care and counselling opportunities, organization and realization of the programme. They praised the new approach and methods of education introduced in antenatal classes. For the future, they expressed the wish to get more information regarding postnatal adap- tation, breast-feeding and the opportunity to speak more freely about the effects a child has on relations between partners. In conclusion the authors present a list of suggested improvements for the Slovenian antenatal classes, based on the relevant literature and the experience gained during the pilot study.Prispevek prinaša pregled in analizo obstoječe prakse izobraževanja kot dela priprave na porod na primeru šole za bodoče starše v Sloveniji. Raziskava ugotavlja potrebe po spremembah v organizacijskem in vsebinskem smislu. Avtorici najprej predstavita interdisciplinarne vsebine babištva, porodništva in družinske andragogike ter dejavnike, ki vplivajo na učinkovi- tost izobraževanja za bodoče starše glede na značilnosti različnih modelov izobraževanja. Avtorici ugotavljata, da je v slovenskem prostoru vzpostavljena tradicija izobraževalnih programov za pripravo na porod in da se programi le počasi prilagajajo spremembam, ki jih lahko zasledimo v tujini, kjer se vse bolj uveljavljajo modeli, ki poudarjajo individualiziran pristop ter kontinuiteto v obravnavi od priprave na starševstvo, med nosečnostjo, porodom in v poporodnem obdobju. V letu 2010 je bila v Sloveniji prvič izvedena pilotna študija Zdrave ženske – zdrave družine prihodnosti, projekt, v katerem je bilo izobraževanje za bodoče starše izvedeno na interdisciplinaren način s strokovnjaki različnih strok ter usmerjeno v potrebe žensk in njihovih partnerjev na prehodu v starševstvo. Gre za prvi poskus novega načina izobraževanja in obravnave za bodoče starše v slovenskem prostoru, ki pa ga obstoječi zdravstveni sistem (še) ne podpira. Udeleženci so najvišje ocenili organizacijo in izvedbo programa s poudarkom na načinu podajanja snovi oziroma izbiri metode in oblike izobraževanja. Rezultati kažejo, da si udeleženci projekta pri izobraževanju za bodoče starše želijo več poudarka na vsebinah poporodne obravnave, partnerskega odnosa in nasvetov glede dojenja. Posebej izpostavljeni so bili svetovalno delo ter kontinuiteta in individualna obravnava vsakega para