Midwives’ Training Needs for Providing Support to Japanese Childbearing Women and Family Members

Abstract

Midwives can be important sources of support for childbearing women and their families. This study aimed to investigate midwives’ training needs regarding the provision of this support type in Japan. A descriptive, observational survey study was conducted. We randomly selected 200 out of 1294 hospitals with an obstetrics department from a total of eight regions; sixty hospitals agreed to participate. An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to midwives working in the hospitals. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. All the participants were aware of the importance of providing support to the family of a childbearing woman in acquiring new roles within the family. Meanwhile, the majority of midwives were concerned about whether the current support met families’ needs and would like to know the needs of the families, as well as the characteristics and methods of appropriate support, as part of their training. The results Highlighted that it is necessary to provide midwives with opportunities to reflect on their concept of family, share their experiences of providing support to the families with other colleagues, and learn from their colleagues’ experiences.