RESEARCH ARTICLE Improving interprofession

midwifery and obstetrics: ra fe nc primary care, while obstetric caregivers in hospitals pro-vide secondary and tertiary care. Community midwives are autonomous and yet interdependent on each other in order to deliver optimal care, the Dutch midwifery and Schölmerich et al. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2014, 14:145 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2393/14/145cially between primary and secondary care [2,3]. However,Boelelaan 1081, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleand obstetricians in secondary and tertiary care are autonomous professionals. Nevertheless, they need to coordinate activities to support women during their obstetric system is imbued with inherent coordination challenges. In this study, we use Faraj & Xiao’s definition of coordination: “(..) coordination is about the integration of organizational work under conditions of task inter-dependence and uncertainty ” [1]. The current public debate in the Netherlands, along with two key public reports, emphasizes the need for improved coordination in midwifery and obstetrics, espe