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Unit of Study MWF93002 - Birth Territory and Midwifery Guardianship (2014)

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Unit Snapshot

  • Enrolment information

    Must be registered with APHRA as a midwife.

Unit description

Focuses on knowledge, skills and attitudes of the midwifery guardian as a change agent in establishing and maintaining sanctum experiences for childbearing women and families. Concepts of power, genius birth and use of integrative therapies are explored in depth. Students learn through planning and implementing strategies covered in this unit.

Unit content

  • Module 1 Birth Territory Theory
  • Terrain (environment,physical, emotional, social, cultural, spiritual/energetic)
  • Jurisdiction: Power; integrative, disintegrative
  • Power and spirituality
  • The sanctum room/experience
  • The surveillance room/experience
  • Genius birth/forced birth

Module 2 Midwifery Guardianship Theory

  • Guardianship versus domination
  • Women’s intrinsic power to gestate, birth, breastfeed and mother
  • Trust in the process and due diligence
  • Major life transition and spiritual emergency
  • Integrative/Disintegrative power in midwifery
  • Spirituality, love and midwifery
  • Embodied self: ego and inner self
  • Boundaries; personal and professional
  • Transference and countertransference
  • Ethical vulnerabilities of the midwife
  • Ethical misconduct; how to predict, avoid and respond
  • Listening skills
  • Challenging and changing the ‘status quo’

Module 3 Creating a Sanctum Environment and Experience

  • Control of boundaries  (physical and emotional)
  • Preparing the woman and birth companions
  • Evidence informed practice, clinical guidelines and the use of power
  • Sanctum architecture
  • Environmental conditions (light, sound, warmth)
  • Furnishings and equipment
  • Sensory experiences
  • Therapeutic use of self (demeanour, presence, touch, verbal and body language)

Module 4 Integrative health care modalities
 

  • Natural therapies
  • Physical therapies
  • Body/Mind therapies

Availabilities

Not currently available in 2014

Learning outcomes and graduate attributes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

GA1: Intellectual rigour, GA2: Creativity, GA3: Ethical practice, GA4: Knowledge of a discipline, GA5: Lifelong learning, GA6: Communication and social skills, GA7: Cultural competence
Learning outcome count Learning outcome description GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7
1 investigate evidence based practice in relation to establishing and maintaining sanctum experiences for women and their families throughout the childbearing process.
2 analyse strategies that use evidence to challenge and change outmoded health care environments and practices in the care of childbearing women and families.
3 develop strategies to support women to maximise their sense of personal power by being cognisant of power imbalances and being proactive in addressing those imbalances.
4 critically evaluate own ability to nurture a woman’s sense of safety by listening to her and respecting her attitudes, values and beliefs.
5 analyse strategies which critique the disintegrative use of power and promote a woman’s own intrinsic capacity to find her individual way to birth and to mother.
6 critique ways to maintain healthy boundaries and be alert to and address ethical vulnerabilities and avoid boundary violations.
7 critically evaluate integrative health practitioners and modalities to enhance options for childbearing women and their families.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. investigate evidence based practice in relation to establishing and maintaining sanctum experiences for women and their families throughout the childbearing process.
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
    • GA6:
  2. analyse strategies that use evidence to challenge and change outmoded health care environments and practices in the care of childbearing women and families.
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
    • GA6:
  3. develop strategies to support women to maximise their sense of personal power by being cognisant of power imbalances and being proactive in addressing those imbalances.
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
    • GA6:
  4. critically evaluate own ability to nurture a woman’s sense of safety by listening to her and respecting her attitudes, values and beliefs.
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
    • GA6:
  5. analyse strategies which critique the disintegrative use of power and promote a woman’s own intrinsic capacity to find her individual way to birth and to mother.
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
    • GA6:
  6. critique ways to maintain healthy boundaries and be alert to and address ethical vulnerabilities and avoid boundary violations.
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
    • GA6:
  7. critically evaluate integrative health practitioners and modalities to enhance options for childbearing women and their families.
    • GA3:
    • GA4:
    • GA6: