Risk and the politics of boundary work:preserving autonomous midwifery in the Netherlands

Midwives’ position in maternal and newborn care (MNC) in the Netherlands is unique: unlike many other countries, they have retained the authority over risk assessment and referral. We studied why and how midwives formally gained their position as gatekeepers, a role formally granted in 1987 by the Study Group for the Revision of the Kloosterman List (SGKL), a group of representatives from all professions and organisations involved in Dutch MNC. We analysed the minutes of the SGKL’s meetings and conducted interviews with eight key-informants who were involved in the SGKL’s decision process. We... Mehr ...