A new study investigates how sensory delivery rooms impact the work environment for midwives.
For several years, both internationally and nationally, development projects have been working on the use of sound, light, and images in patient care. In Denmark, for example, at the maternity ward of Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, they have tested whether the intensity and color of light can bring calm and comfort to the delivery room.
At the maternity ward at North Zealand Hospital, an innovation project using sound, light, and images was conducted on two delivery rooms from August 2013 to August 2014. The concept, developed in collaboration with Philips and Wave Care, has continued as a permanent offering for expectant mothers after the project concluded.
This is the first time that all three parameters (sound, light, and live images) have been used in a maternity ward in Denmark. The two delivery rooms involved in the project have been named sensory delivery rooms, with the overall goal of creating better birth experiences for the mothers. At the same time, there was a belief that these rooms could positively affect the work environment, which is a particularly interesting perspective in a time when there is much attention on midwives’ working conditions.
According to a DR 2 broadcast in October 2014, the conditions were reported as strained, due to factors such as low staffing levels, more inductions, etc. (DR 2, 2014). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate how the sensory delivery rooms impact the work environment for midwives, which has not been explored previously. The study was conducted from April through July 2014.
