One of the comments on my post about the Group B Streptococcal pamphlet I developed suggested I should feel free to share more pamphlets. Now I do have more pamphlets that I developed a few years ago, one on gestational diabetes, one on third stage, but none of these have been kept up to date and, as all midwives will know it is quite a challenge to keep the information we share current and up to date with the latest research evidence. Although I keep as well informed as I can be on all the issues pertaining to LMC midwifery practice I cannot develop information on everything. I did study GBS in some depth as a postgraduate paper a few years ago and I have committed to trying keep the Group B Streptococcus pamphlet current and up to date.
I know that other midwives have studied a variety of topics, one of my postgraduate class members studied herpes, and produced some good concise information at that time on the implications of genital herpes in its various forms. I think it would be wonderful if we as midwives had a place where we could share the information we have spent so much time and energy developing. Of course we can publish in journals and that is a great way to share, but not all of us have the time or energy to commit to this activity. I wanted to create a place where midwives could easily share information and make it available to a wider audience. To this end I have created a group in SCRIBD where anyone can join and upload information that might be of use to midwives and to women. As discerning midwives it will be for us to decide if the information on this site is evidence based, and if it is of use to us and the women we care for.
I completed a Master of Midwifery degree a couple of years ago and the subject of my research was how midwives access and share information. Many of the midwives I spoke to said that they would love to share information that they had discovered when they had come across some particular issue in practice, but they did not want to write up a journal article. This idea of how we can share information has been something that I have pondered considerably over the last couple of years. I believe midwives have a lot of knowledge and information that would be of considerable use to others and I believe that this group may be a good place to start sharing. I welcome your thoughts and comments and if you feel the urge please join the Midwives Group in SCRIBD. At the moment there is only me and my GBS pamphlet there but I do hope that this is something that grows.
Image: Sharing the ice cream, from Clappstars photos ion Flickr.com
