Midwives' work-related fear and anxiety and its impact on their wellbeing and performance. A qualitative study of perceived anxiety in community midwives.

Introduction: Working with acute situations is usually part of midwifery practice. In the Netherlands the community midwives work in a context where they are mostly the sole decision-makers and policymakers and often do not have the support of a multidisciplinary team during a birth. How Dutch community midwives maintain their emotional hygiene is not known.