21/03/2026
So grateful to be able to offer this ❤️
👩⚕️ Is it better to see the same midwife or a small team of midwives throughout pregnancy and labour?
Evidence from 17 studies involving 18,533 randomized women was included in this updated systematic review.
Women or their babies who received midwife continuity of care models (seeing the same midwife or team of midwives) were:
⚕️ Less likely to experience a caesarean section or instrumental birth with forceps or a ventouse suction cup.
⚕️May be less likely to experience an episiotomy (a cut made by a healthcare professional into the perineum and vaginal wall).
⚕️More likely to experience spontaneous vaginal birth.
⚕️Reported more positive experiences during pregnancy, labour, and postpartum.
⚕️Additionally, there were cost savings in the antenatal (care during pregnancy) and intrapartum (care during labour and birth) period.
Further evidence may change our results, and future research should focus on the impact on women with social risk factors and those with medical complications, and understanding the implementation and scaling up of midwife continuity of care models, with emphasis on low‐ and middle‐income countries.
Read the full Cochrane review: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004667.pub6/full
