ABSTRACT
Early and direct access to maternity care is a key priority for maternity care in Scotland and is the focus of the only national Health Improvement, Efficiency, Access and Treatment (HEAT) target relating to maternity care. Health care is delivered through a partnership between the Scottish Government and National Health Service (NHS) Scotland. Sullivan and Tannahill argued that Scotland's NHS post-devolution reflects Scotland's 'communitarian' values and demonstrates the continuation of an existing characteristic of Scottish welfare. Midwives work within the area of tension created by this paradox and are required to hold both perspectives as true, bridging the social and medical models of childbirth. There may ultimately be conflicts between the prioritisation of the rights and welfare of the child and those of the mother. Antenatal risk screening is now mandatory, the predictive value of antenatal risk assessment tools has consistently been found to be poor.
