Guides and Articles
Midwifery Practices: Pregnancy, Birth and Postnatal Care Roles
Understand the stages covered by midwifery care, the relationship between practice and birth setting, and questions about continuity and communication.
Midwifery practices organize care around pregnancy, birth and the period afterward. The practice is the professional team; the place where appointments or a birth occur is a separate part of the discussion. Understanding both helps make the care relationship clearer.
A Role Across Connected Stages
BCCNM's public role description places midwifery across pregnancy, labour, birth and the postpartum period, including care involving the parent and baby. Those stages connect, but they involve different conversations and appointments.
Pregnancy discussions may look ahead to the birth and the care afterward. Postnatal conversations look back at what has happened and forward to the questions that remain. A clear explanation should make the current stage and the relevant contact easy to identify.
The Practice and the Setting
A practice name does not identify every place where its work occurs. Ask which location applies to an initial appointment and how the team describes the settings in which it works. That is different from assuming a particular birth setting is part of every practice.
For example, someone joining a practice may want to understand who they will meet during appointments and how the team organizes continuity. Someone already receiving care may instead need to know who explains a change in the plan. These questions concern the relationship with the team, rather than selecting a setting from a photograph.
Connected Conversations
A consultation gives space to discuss the person's questions. Care planning connects preferences with the explanation from the professional team. Follow-up appointments return to those discussions as care continues.
If other clinicians are involved, ask how the teams communicate and which contact will explain the next step. The aim is to understand the relationship between the people involved, without trying to infer clinical responsibilities from job titles alone.
Common Questions
Is the practice the same as the birth location?
They are different pieces of information. Ask the practice to explain its appointment locations, team and care settings separately.
How can I understand continuity within a team?
Ask who normally leads appointments, how other team members contribute and how questions are passed between them.
What should be clear after a planning conversation?
The choices discussed, what has been agreed and who will explain any remaining questions should be understandable. Ask for unfamiliar terms to be connected with the current stage of care.