Midwives, obstetricians and prenatal screening

Prenatal screening is a routine procedure within contemporary maternitycare and most women opt for prenatal testing and become involved invarious aspects of such tests. Evidence to date suggests that the level ofthe practitioner’s knowledge can impinge upon their communication skillsand create barriers to information giving. A number of studies haveidentified that evaluations and monitoring of this aspect of antenatal carearound information giving, staff training and guideline awareness, isminimal. Therefore, this study aimed to explore midwives’ andobstetricians’ perceptions of their roles, training needs, guidelineawareness and their views of the local prenatal service. The study wasundertaken between 1996 and 1997 across seven maternity units and involved 245 midwives and obstetricians. In developing the method,published standards and guidelines for practice were used to underpin the approach chosen. The findings suggest that a lack of guideline awareness exists, as well as dissatisfaction with local prenatal screening servicesand an identified need for further training among midwives and obstetricians