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Emergencies in Maternity Care - HEA00158H

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  • Department: Health Sciences
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: H
  • Academic year of delivery: 2024-25

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 1 2024-25

Module aims

Note: This document uses the word 'women’ throughout. This should be taken to include people who do not identify as women but are pregnant or who have given birth.

  • Enable evidence-base understanding and critique of best practice and safe action to fulfil the midwife’s role in first line assessment and management of complications, emergency situations and responding to additional care needs.

  • Enable effective understanding, critique and safe action to fulfil the midwife’s role caring for and supporting women and newborn infants requiring medical, obstetric, neonatal, mental health, socal care and other services, within the contexts of interdisciplinary and multiagency team working.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate safe action, application of evidence-based theoretical principles and critical evaluation to fulfil the midwife’s role in first line assessment and management of:

a complications and additional care needs

b. emergencies in the absence of obstetric and/or paediatric assistance.

2. Exercise initiative and professional responsibility when engaging with women, families and working

within interdisciplinary and multiagency teams when complications, additional care needs and emergencies arise.

3. Critically evaluate and respond appropriately, kindly and compassionately to the psychological impact of involvement in first line assessment and management of emergencies, complications and additional care needs, in order to support and care for:

a. women and partners/families

b. self, within the context of interdisciplinary and multiagency teams.

Module content

Content includes: contemporary, evidence-based knowledge (including reports and data on local, national and international prevalence and risk) and practice of complications and additional care needs for women, newborn infants and families to prevent, anticipate and effectively manage complications and emergencies, including prompt responses to signs of compromise and deterioration in the woman, fetus, and newborn infant. Examples could include (but are not limited to) postpartum haemorrhage, neonatal resuscitation and shoulder dystocia. Clinical decision making and actions based on need and best practice/evidence for the management of emergency situations; clinical skills (including simulation); firstline management of complications and additional care needs of the woman, fetus and/or newborn infant; including support, referral, interdisciplinary and multiagency team working, escalation and follow-up. Evidence-based, best practice approaches to keep mothers and newborn infants together whenever possible when providing midwifery care, even when complications and additional care needs occur. Collaboration with interdisciplinary and multiagency teams to provide respectful, kind, compassionate care - including end of life care for the woman and/or newborn infant, and their partner and family, and follow up with the family, ensuring continuity of care; traumatic experiences & their sequelae: minimising birth trauma and providing trauma informed care. Themes within UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) University Standards mapped to this module include understanding special circumstances that can affect lactation and overcoming these challenges.

Please also see detailed mapping to NMC (2019) Standards of Proficiency for Midwives for the programme.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Objective Structured Clinical Examination - HS Dpt 100

Special assessment rules

Non-compensatable

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Objective Structured Clinical Examination - HS Dpt 100

Module feedback

Written feedback for the summative assessment is provided on the standard proforma, within the timescale specified in the programme handbook.

Indicative reading

Billington M. and Stevenson M. (2007). Critical care in childbearing for midwives. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Campbell, D. and Carr, S. (2018). Midwifery emergencies at a glance. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.

Boyle M. (Ed). (2016). Emergencies around childbirth - a handbook for midwives. (3rd ed). London: CRC Press.

Fawke, J. et al. (2021). Newborn resuscitation and support of transition of infants at birth guidelines. London:

Resuscitation Council UK .(2022). Resuscitation guidelines. [Online]. Available at: https://www.resus.org.uk/library/2021-resuscitation-guidelines [Accessed 11 March 2022].

National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU). (2022). MBRRACE-UK. Mothers and babies: reducing risk through audits and confidential enquiries across the UK.[Online]. Available at: https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk [Accessed 11 March 2022].

Paz Miranda, M. and Barnard, S M. (Eds). (2020). Waterbirth stories: midwifery reflections. Abingdon: Routledge.

Raynor, M.D. et al. (Eds). (2012). Midwifery practice: critical illness, complications and emergencies case book. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Winter, C., Draycott, T., Muchatuta, N. and Crofts, J. (Eds).(2018). PROMPT Course Manual. (3rd ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.