State of midwifery research in France.

OBJECTIVE

We describe French midwives' experience and perception of research and publication as well as their publications in scientific and professional journals.

DESIGN

We conducted an online cross sectional survey of midwives from June to November 2016; complemented by a bibliometric analysis of their publications in any language.

SETTING

This study was conducted in France, where it is necessary to question some midwifery and obstetrical practices.

PARTICIPANTS

146 midwives working/residing in France or holding/studying in France for a PhD or a Masters' degree at the time of the study; or having already published articles in any scientific or professional journal.

FINDINGS

Of the 146 eligible midwives, 91.8% were female; 15 (10.3%) had a PhD degree, 26 (17.8%) and 80 (54.8%) were preparing a PhD and a Master's degree, respectively. A total of 140 midwives (95.8%) were working in midwifery and 54 (37.0%) respondents reported having already participated in midwifery research programs. Publication experience was reported by 73 midwives, including 26 (17.8%) who have published at least one article on midwifery in a journal accessible online and peerreviewed. 97.2% of midwives with publication experience consider it useful to publish but 75.7% consider that it is a difficult process. Lack of time, not mastering scientific writing and English language are their main barriers to publication. We identified 218 articles published by these midwives before January 2016, including 180 (82.6%) on maternal and perinatal health. Of their 134 unique articles on midwifery accessible online, 77 (57.5%) dealt with bio-medical topics, 49 (36.6%) with health system issues, and 17 (12.7%) used human and social sciences approaches. Pregnancy and birth were the two most studied reproductive life phases. Eighty-nine (28.4%) of these 314 articles were about midwifery practices or interventions. Since 1990, 93 articles have been published on midwifery in peer-reviewed journals, including 32 in the French language. The number of publications increased significantly with time with a progression coefficient at +1.18% per year, in particular in scientific journals (+0.78% per year).

KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATION

We evidenced that even though midwives in France have a still limited experience of research, and few of them have completed a PhD degree, or receive a salary for doing research, they publish an increasing number of scientific articles on midwifery topics. However, very few research programs in France examine aspects of midwifery. This scarcity is a major barrier to the involvement of midwives in research. Scientific publications about midwifery in French language are limited mainly due to the lack of adequate and specialized journal in French. However, publishing in French would facilitate the access to knowledge and evidence of midwifery practitioners in Frenchspeaking countries, including French-speaking Africa, where maternal mortality ratios can be very high. We suggest and discuss a number of approaches to increase access to scientific knowledge on midwifery in France and French-speaking countries.