The Experiences of Midwives and Nurses Collaborating to Provide Birthing Care: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Evidence

Abstract

The purpose of this systematic review was to identify, appraise, and synthesize qualitative evidence about the experiences of midwives and nurses collaborating to provide birthing care, using the Joanna Briggs Institute methods. Published and unpublished sources were searched. 993 records were identified. Duplicates were removed. 875 titles and abstracts, and 104 full text records were screened. 6 studies were included in the review, 5 studies included in the meta-synthesis. 38 findings were identified and aggregated into 5 categories resulting in two synthesized findings; 1) Negative experiences of collaboration between nurses and midwives may be influenced by distrust, lack of clear roles, or unprofessional or inconsiderate behaviour and 2) If midwives and nurses have positive experiences collaborating, then there is hope that the challenges of collaboration can be overcome. Given the limited studies synthesized in this review, more research is warranted to understand how collaborative experiences occur within multiple contexts.