No More ‘Us’ and ‘Them’

Teamwork is a crucial part of providing effective, safe maternity care. However, in contemporary UK practice, it seems it is not always effectively achieved. Most midwives will recognise the idea of trying to protect women and birthing people from their care becoming over-medicalised. Midwives protect and promote the physiology of pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period; that is our job. However it is also our job to ‘work cooperatively… respect(ing) the skills, expertise and contributions of your colleagues, referring matters to them when appropriate… to preserve the safety of those receiving care’.3 The failings described in the 2022 Kirkup report into maternity services in East Kent demand that we take effective teamwork seriously. We cannot afford to think in terms of ‘us’ and ‘them’, particularly regarding midwifery versus obstetric care.