MIDIRS Search Pack of the Month for January aligns with the Royal College of Midwives’ top research priorities, as set out by last year’s Research Prioritisation Project.
Please note: MIDIRS is committed to respecting all our subscribers, authors and maternity service users, most of whom are women and identify as women. The language we use reflects that but will also be varied, where appropriate, to recognise and affirm diverse gender identities.
In May, the RCM announced their top ten research priorities following the 16-month Research Prioritisation Project which gathered the perspectives of UK-based midwives, student midwives and maternity support workers. We are spotlighting these priorities as part of MIDIRS Search Pack of the Month series, which aims to disseminate relevant, topical and underrepresented research to maternity professionals. Our July and November 2025 Search Packs of the Month highlighted the top two research priorities outlined within the project:
“1. What is required to create and implement culturally safe maternity care in the UK for women and birthing parents, and their babies, and staff from the global ethnic majority? What role does decolonisation of the midwifery curriculum and ongoing learning in clinical settings play in improving cultural competence and safety?”
“2. What are the appropriate reasons for induction of labour? What are the short and long term maternal and baby outcomes associated with it? How should this be communicated to women and birthing parents and their informed consent gained?”
This month, we turn to the third highest priority:
“3. What are the important components of personalised maternity care to ensure informed choice and decision making and how should this care be provided?”
Our Search Packs explore a wide range of topics related to personalised maternity care, with a strong emphasis on ensuring informed choice remains at the heart of care. Examples include MS29: Home Birth: Choice and Control, PN4: The Decision to Breastfeed, and M8: Models of Care, each offering the latest maternity research on the necessity of women’s choices within maternity services. No pack embodies this principle more comprehensively than MS45: Woman-Centred Care, and for this reason we have selected it as our Search Pack of the Month.
Woman-centred care is at the heart of maternity services, prioritising the individual needs, values, and preferences of each woman to ensure that care is not only clinically safe but also personal. Tailored care strengthens informed decision-making, enhances satisfaction, and improves outcomes for both mother and baby. MS45 brings together evidence and insights that address the RCM’s research priority, making it an invaluable resource for those committed to advancing woman-centred approaches in maternity care.
What are MIDIRS Search Packs?
Our Search Packs are pre-made literature searches on topics within maternity research. They contain a comprehensive bibliographic list of articles as well as article abstracts. MIDIRS subscribers can find all of our Search Packs on the MIC database by searching for the specific number of a Search Pack. You can find a list of all of our Search Packs (and their corresponding numbers) here. If you require a more specific search, our librarians are also on hand to provide bespoke literature searches. You can order a bespoke search on our Products and Services page.
*NOTE: Access to this Search Pack for free has now ended. To view our latest Search Pack of the Month, please head to the Blogs, News and Views section of our website. To access the Evidence-Based Practice Search Pack, plus many more and our whole Maternity Infant and Care database, please consider subscribing to MIDIRS.*
Take a look back at articles discussing woman-centred care that have featured in past editions of MIDIRS Midwifery Digest:
‘Working in the birth centre.’ Caroline Flint (September 1997)
Caroline Flint explains how her birth centre, an independent practice, was set up and is run to provide woman centred maternity care.
‘Women-centred care and vaginal breech birth.’ Dodie Shoshan (March 2023)
Breech presentation occurs in three to four per cent of births (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) 2017). The safety of vaginal breech birth (VBB) is a source of significant debate. Following the Term Breech Trial (TBT) national guidance recommended planned caesarean section (CS) in the case of breech presentation (Downe & Marshall 2020). However, the tone of guidance and teaching materials has changed markedly in recent years and become more equivocal regarding the overall benefits of CS over VBB (Johnson & Taylor 2021, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) 2021, Winter et all 2021). Despite signs of increasing acceptance of the safety of VBB, the context of the debate remains one of risk and pathology, with significant implications for women’s autonomy and experience of birth and maternity care.
‘The importance of values-based midwifery and its effect on communicating physiological changes in the cardiovascular system during pregnancy.’ Rachel Pitson (December 2018)
The midwife performs a key role in providing guidance for women and families throughout pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. This article explores the impact which values-based midwifery practice can have on women’s experiences and outcomes. The importance of communication will be discussed in relation to educating and supporting women through normal physiological adaptations to pregnancy. The author focuses on changes to the cardiovascular system, giving an overview of key changes which occur naturally during the antenatal period. Particular reference will be made to haematological adaptations such as the increase in coagulation activity, as well as ratio changes between plasma and red cell volume within blood mass which leads to haemodilution. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) publish guidelines that provide evidence in relation to these normal physiological changes. How these are interpreted by women and their families can depend on the effectiveness of the communication and relationship building between them and their midwife. A brief case study from the author’s placement area will be utilised to illustrate the importance of key qualities when communicating certain cardiovascular changes, such as self-awareness and a woman-centred approach to care delivery.
To read these papers in full, plus hundreds more midwifery-related articles, subscribe to MIDIRS and access our full MIC database, as well as our quarterly Digest.
