Abstract

To date, studies on non-suturing have been small and retrospective or concentrated on the healing of skin rather than muscle. In the rapidly changing and ever demanding arena of maternity care, midwives have to be able to acquire and apply knowledge, update their skills, communicate effectively and respond to the needs and the wants of their clients. However, these complex tasks are not carried out in isolation from the wider provision of health care and are often influenced by the trends and fashions of the societies in which we live. Given this, I would like midwives to consider and reflect upon an area of midwifery practice that demonstrates the challenges and contradictions that we face in trying to inform women of their choices. At the same time we are seeking to make sound clinical decisions based upon good professional judgements. [Extract from the article's introduction]