Effective collaboration between midwives, obstetricians and other maternity professionals is fundamental to the delivery of safe, high-quality care. Failures in teamwork, communication and escalation continue to be identified as contributory factors in adverse maternity outcomes in national safety reviews (Kirkup 2015, Independent Maternity Review 2022). Variation in understanding of professional roles and responsibilities may contribute to uncertainty in decision making, delayed
escalation and reduced confidence in shared clinical management.

Human factors literature has long emphasised that safe clinical performance depends not only on technical expertise but also on relational team processes such as communication, leadership and situational awareness (Flin et al 2008). Psychological safety, the shared belief that individuals can speak up without fear of negative interpersonal consequences, has been shown to influence learning behaviour and collaborative performance in health care teams (Edmondson 1999). Educational strategies that enable early exploration of professional boundaries and communication dynamics may therefore be important in shaping safer patterns of multidisciplinary working.

Interprofessional education (IPE) has been widely advocated as a mechanism to strengthen collaborative practice by enabling learners from different professional backgrounds to learn with, from and about one another (World Health Organization (WHO) 2010). Evidence suggests that early exposure to shared learning experiences can enhance role clarity, foster mutual professional respect and improve communication behaviours associated with patient safety (Reeves et al 2016). Conversely, limited interprofessional learning opportunities during professional formation may allow hierarchical norms and stereotyped role assumptions to become embedded, influencing future workplace interactions.