Evaluating the effect of an educational intervention on student midwife self-efficacy for their role as physiological childbirth advocates.

Introduction: Midwifery education that strengthens self-efficacy can support student midwives in their role as advocates for a physiological approach to childbirth.

Methods: To assess the effect of an educational intervention on self-efficacy, a pre- and post-intervention survey was administered to a control group and an intervention group of third year student midwives. The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) was supplemented with midwifery-related self-efficacy questions related to behaviour in home and hospital settings, the communication of evidence, and ability to challenge practice.

Results: Student midwives exposed to midwifery education designed to strengthen self-efficacy demonstrated significantly higher levels of general self-efficacy (p = .001) when contrasted to a control cohort. These students also showed significantly higher levels of self-efficacy in advocating for physiological childbirth (p = .029). There was a non-significant increase in self-efficacy in the hospital setting in the intervention group, a finding that suggests that education may ameliorate the effect of hospital settings on midwifery practice.

Discussion: In spite of the small size of the study population, education that focuses on strengthening student midwife self-efficacy shows promise.