Continuity of carer

Continuity of carer is a phrase used in UK midwifery care to describe being looked after during your birth by a midwife you already know from antenatal appointments, and who will also see you after the birth.

The phrase can get confused with continuity of care, which is about making sure different people involved in your care communicate well for a joined-up experience.

Continuity of carer is about building relationships with maternity care providers so they get to know what’s important to you. Your care can then be personalised. Continuity midwives will work in small teams so women can get to know the midwives that provide their care.

Evidence tells us maternity care is safest when women have continuity of carer. This is why maternity services are all moving towards this way of working. At the moment, most women will still receive their antenatal care and their birth care from separate teams. However, the number of continuity teams in the UK is increasing all the time.

In Kent and Medway, we are working to move services safely from previous ways of working to provide continuity of carer for the majority of women. The transformation has started with several pilot continuity teams, and the number of teams will be increased over time. Introducing the change steadily allows us to make sure all staff have the up-to-date experience and training needed.

Currently, staff are split between:

community midwives providing antenatal and postnatal care in the local settings such as children’s centres, GP surgeries, women’s homes
midwives working in hospitals and birth centres providing care during birth, directly after the birth, and for complex pregnancies or unwell mothers and babies.

In the future, midwives will be split between:

continuity midwives looking after no more than 36 women each and seeing them through pregnancy, birth and the early weeks
specialist midwives are available to work in partnership with the continuity midwives. Specialist midwives make sure the safest care can be provided when more complex situations arise.

If you have had continuity of carer, or if you have been affected by not having continuity of carer, we would love to hear your story. If you have any concerns about your care or require a response, please report your concern directly.