Improving relationships through clinical supervision: Part 1

This paper, the first of two parts, focuses on the way in which the
midwife/client relationship has evolved and how this has affected the way
in which midwives relate to each other and the women they attend.
Midwives are urged to examine this aspect of their role in light of recent
policy initiatives, which have, to some extent, created a competitive, everchanging,
and sometimes,threatening environment in which they work. For
some midwives this has made the way they practice more daunting and
challenging, and some have stated that they do not find the support they
require within the current model of statutory supervision (Association of
Radical Midwives, 1995). The second part of the paper addresses the
therapeutic relationship that exists between midwives and clients and
encourages supervisors of midwives and midwifery managers to consider
an alternative way in which they themselves and a constantly changing
health care organization could offer support to midwives. The concept of
clinical supervision is therefore introduced and offered as one possible
alternative to the current model of statutory midwifery supervision.