Tensions and barriers in improving maternity care: the story of a birth centre

Throughout the world, women-centred care is gaining prominence in providing maternity care.

Many birth centres open each year to meet this need - but at the same time, many close or are shelved.

So why should the turnover in organisations that deliver such a vital service to women be so high, thwarting many midwives from practising as they would wish?

This carefully researched and passionate book tells the story of a birth centre that did fail, and the painful but valuable lessons it presents for others.

Many of the issues and behaviours illustrated - lack of leadership, support, vision and plain-dealing, and tensions between bureaucracy and women-centred care - will find resonance in maternity services and midwifery experiences in the UK and throughout the world.