An examination of the characteristics of short term international midwifery consultants.

As humanity hurtles towards the twenty first century, it is apparent that the world is becoming a smaller place. Moreover, the colonization of previous centuries has largely shown deference to a differing approach in international interaction. It would seem that consultancy offers nations the possibility of importing expertise in order to aid development without overtly incurring the domination of foreign powers. This thesis debates the veracity of such an assumption and proceeds to examine international consultancy as practised by a single professional group, namely midwives. The study is confined to consideration of those who provide a short term consultancy service. It debates whether international consultancy can rightly be considered an approach which offers the client an equal partnership or whether it remains contaminated by the spirit of western domination. The thesis explores current thinking on modernization and development and asserts that these issues are of considerable import, demanding an understanding by every midwife practising as an international consultant. This debate sets the scene for the main research question which, using a qualitative research approach, examines the characteristics of midwives who cross international boundaries in order to provide consultancy services, considering how such characteristics may impact on their effectiveness. Across the developing world, the needs within the maternity and child health services and the responsibilities of the midwife have been brought into sharper focus with the advent of the Safe Motherhood Initiative [WHO:1987]. Currently, a significant number of professionals from the industrialized West travel to Third World countries in response to requests to assist or advise on health and related issues. This thesis dissects differing perspectives of need which may occur between the Orient and the Occident and asks who responds to the expressed need for expertise, how they are selected, whether they are prepared and how they are received. Ultimately, a theory is born. This proffers that effectiveness in international consultancy is dependent on the fulfilment of certain "laws". The "laws" are derived from the discoveries made during data analysis relating to the main research question. They are also influenced by the consideration of numerous subsidiary research questions which arise during the study. The "laws" are nurtured in an extensive examination of literature scanning several professional disciplines and spanning several decades up to the present day