ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the impact of stress, burn-out and birth trauma on midwives. Demystifying the terms ‘compassion fatigue’, ‘secondary trauma’ and ‘vicarious trauma’, the chapter explores how the culture of maternity services, including litigation and risk, can affect the behaviour of both midwives and obstetricians and how this can affect the experience of women during labour and birth. The chapter debates the evidence around resilience and self-compassion and how this can be translated into practice. Evidence around clinical supervision for staff is debated including the professional midwifery advocate (PMA) role and how this can be used to deliver clinical restorative supervision sessions. The chapters provides practical examples of how maternity services can support resilience building.
