Examining a newborn baby: are midwives using their skills?

Midwives across the UK have been undertaking the discharge examination of newborn babies for more than ten years. The perception is that many have the examination of the newborn qualification but do not use it. An audit was undertaken of 100 midwives, neonatal nurses and health visitors known to have the appropriate qualification in one area of the UK. The aims of the audit were to ascertain if midwives in this one area were in fact discharging newborn babies and to gain a better picture of local needs to improve the quality of local training. The audit sought to determine how many of the midwives, neonatal nurses and health visitors were discharging newborn babies, the number of babies they had discharged in one given month. What prevented them from using their skills and how best the training could be moved forward in the light of the changes in hospital based paediatrician working hours and GP service provision.