Keeping Childbirth Natural & Dynamic (KCND), Scottish Government Programme

Funding: Scottish Government Health Department

Local Lead: Humphrey T¹

Summary

NHS Scotland maternity services policies are the Framework for Maternity Services in Scotland and Report of the Expert Group on Maternity Services. While there has been significant progress made towards implementing this policy, specific key principles are still to be achieved in some NHS Boards. To address this, the Scottish Government Health Directorates (SGHD) established the multi-professional Keeping Childbirth Natural and Dynamic (KCND) programme. By appointing Consultant Midwives in each of the NHS Boards, KCND aims to maximise opportunities for women to have as natural a birth experience as possible, through: providing evidence based care; reducing unnecessary intervention; ensuring informed choice; and developing multiprofessional care pathways. Key objectives to be achieved at NHS Board level are:

• Implementation of national referral criteria and care pathways.
• Implementation of the midwife as the first point of professional contact in pregnancy.
• Implementation of the lead maternity professional based on risk.
• Implementation of normal birth pathways regardless of birth setting.

¹NHS Grampian & Dugald Baird Centre for Research on Women’s Health, University of Aberdeen.