Dear Midwives,

My name is Greta Broßat, and I am pursuing a master’s degree in special education at Leibniz University Hannover. As part of my empirical master’s thesis, I would like to conduct expert interviews with professionals in the field. In this context, I would like to ask if you would be open to participating in an interview.  

To provide a brief overview: 

The main focus of my thesis is the significance of media-mediated images of motherhood in the context of postpartum stress. In the empirical part of my thesis, I aim to capture the perspectives of professionals who support women during the period surrounding childbirth and who, due to their professional work, have experience and knowledge regarding this topic.

I am particularly interested in your professional assessment of the significance, from your perspective, of social media platforms such as Instagram for the experience, perception, and discussion of postpartum distress. This pertains to your professional experiences, your individual perceptions, and your professional assessment.

The interview will last approximately 45 to 60 minutes and may be ended early at any time without providing a reason. All personal data, as well as information about individuals and institutions, will be completely anonymized so that no conclusions can be drawn about your identity. The interview can take place online via video conference or by phone. 

I am, of course, happy to answer any questions you may have. I am aware that your daily work involves a heavy workload, and I therefore fully understand if you are unable to participate in an interview. Nevertheless, I would greatly appreciate a response and thank you in advance for your time and for considering my request. 

Sincerely,

Greta Broßat 

Dear Colleagues,

As part of my bachelor’s thesis in the Midwifery program at the University of Applied Sciences for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (FHM), I am researching the counseling of postpartum women regarding the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Venous thromboembolism remains one of the most common preventable causes of severe maternal complications and deaths following childbirth. Nevertheless, this important topic often receives little attention in continuing education programs and in the day-to-day work of midwives. Yet we midwives provide particularly close care to women during the postpartum period and play a crucial role in risk identification and prevention.

With this survey, I would like to find out

• how midwives currently provide counseling on VTE,
• which risk factors are known and assessed,
• and what uncertainties or support needs exist.

Based on the results, the goal is to develop a structured, practice-oriented counseling questionnaire that can support midwives in the future with individualized risk assessment and counseling during the postpartum period.

Participation is limited to licensed midwives.

✔ The survey is anonymous.
✔ It takes about 5–7 minutes to complete.

Click here to go directly to the survey:

https://www.survio.com/survey/d/O0R2S8T8Q8H9O8W9W

Every single response helps to further develop counseling practices and, in the long term, improve care for postpartum women.

Thank you very much for your support!

Rebekka Tammen

Student of Midwifery (B.Sc.)
at the University of Applied Sciences for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (FHM)

Dear Midwives Network,

For a contemporary witness project at the University of Bielefeld, I am looking for contacts to midwives who worked in West Germany from around 1960-1979 and were involved in the care of unwanted pregnant women and/or the performance of abortions. If you know of any former colleagues or contacts from your region who worked as midwives between 1960 and 1979 and would be willing to share their experiences, I would be very pleased if you would forward my request or send me feedback.

As unwanted pregnancies and abortions were illegalized and not discussed publicly at the time - and this still has an impact to this day - and contemporary witnesses are now around 75-90 years old, they are very difficult to reach and often only through personal contacts.

Unwanted pregnancies were often 'not an issue' back then, abortions were forbidden with a few exceptions. Nevertheless, it is estimated that several hundred thousand abortions were carried out each year. To this day, little is known about the people who accompanied unintended pregnant women or performed abortions. Most of these people - including doctors, midwives, nurses, receptionists and people without medical training - have never spoken publicly about their experiences. According to reports from pregnant women, midwives, along with other professional groups, were important and in some cases the first and local professional contact persons for many issues relating to pregnancy, birth and family planning - including unwanted pregnancies and abortions. In a 1965 survey of almost 1000 letters to the magazine STERN, around 10% of those affected stated that their abortion had been performed by a midwife. Nevertheless, the experiences of midwives are still less visible today than those of gynecologists/physicians.

Here you can find a flyer of the project. Interviews with contemporary witnesses can take place in person, by telephone or digitally - naturally confidentially and in compliance with the applicable data protection regulations. Results and content will only be used anonymously. Contact maren.lange[at]uni-bielefeld.dePhone: 0521 - 106-4571; www.erinnerungs-studie.de

I would be delighted if you or a colleague could help to make this story visible!

Many thanks for your support and best regards

Maren Lange

Dear midwives,

My name is Nele Engler, and I am studying midwifery science in my 7th trimester at the Fachhochschule des Mittelstands (FHM) in Hanover.

The aim of my research project is to show the emotional strain that midwives experience when caring for stillbirths and to find out what strategies they use to deal with it.

Caring for stillbirths can be an intense psychological and emotional challenge for midwives. They are faced with the task of supporting grieving parents and at the same time processing their own emotions. This often leads to stress and exhaustion. It is therefore important to deal with this burden more intensively and to develop support strategies. This survey is intended to contribute to this.

This questionnaire is aimed exclusively at trained midwives. The survey comprises 11 questions and takes a maximum of 10 minutes to complete. Your answers will be collected anonymously and treated in strict confidence. The link to the survey.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by e-mail .

Thank you for your participation!

Nele Engler