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Bridging Between Professionals in Perinatal Care: Towards Shared Care in The Netherlands

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Abstract

Relatively high perinatal mortality rates in the Netherlands have required a critical assessment of the national obstetric system. Policy evaluations emphasized the need for organizational improvement, in particular closer collaboration between community midwives and obstetric caregivers in hospitals. The leveled care system that is currently in place, in which professionals in midwifery and obstetrics work autonomously, does not fully meet the needs of pregnant women, especially women with an accumulation of non-medical risk factors. This article provides an overview of the advantages of greater interdisciplinary collaboration and the current policy developments in obstetric care in the Netherlands. In line with these developments we present a model for shared care embedded in local ‘obstetric collaborations’. These collaborations are formed by obstetric caregivers of a single hospital and all surrounding community midwives. Through a broad literature search, practical elements from shared care approaches in other fields of medicine that would suit the Dutch obstetric system were selected. These elements, focusing on continuity of care, patient centeredness and interprofessional teamwork form a comprehensive model for a shared care approach. By means of this overview paper and the presented model, we add direction to the current policy debate on the development of obstetrics in the Netherlands. This model will be used as a starting point for the pilot-implementation of a shared care approach in the ‘obstetric collaborations’, using feedback from the field to further improve it.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Obstetrics and Prenatal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Erasmus University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    A. G. Posthumus, V. L. N. Schölmerich, A. J. M. Waelput, A. A. Vos, L. C. De Jong-Potjer, R. Bakker, G. J. Bonsel, E. A. P. Steegers & S. Denktaş

  2. Department of Organization Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    V. L. N. Schölmerich & P. Groenewegen

  3. The School of Midwifery, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, P.O. Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    G. J. Bonsel

  4. Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    G. J. Bonsel

Authors
  1. A. G. Posthumus
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  2. V. L. N. Schölmerich
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  3. A. J. M. Waelput
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  9. E. A. P. Steegers
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  10. S. Denktaş
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Correspondence to A. G. Posthumus.

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Posthumus, A.G., Schölmerich, V.L.N., Waelput, A.J.M. et al. Bridging Between Professionals in Perinatal Care: Towards Shared Care in The Netherlands. Matern Child Health J 17, 1981–1989 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-012-1207-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-012-1207-4

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