We know midwifery care works. So why isn't it everywhere?
In this episode, host Dr. Melissa Avery sits down with Brie Thumm, CNM, PhD, midwife and assistant professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz College of Nursing, to explore this game-changing question: not whether midwifery care improves outcomes, but how to get it adopted, sustained, and equitably integrated across every setting in the U.S?
Dr. Thumm breaks down implementation science, which is the study of how to translate proven interventions into everyday practice. She reframes the midwifery model of care itself as an evidence-based intervention ready for rigorous, systematic adoption.
In this episode, you'll learn:
-What implementation science is (and why it's different from effectiveness research)
-How theories, models, and frameworks create shared language for studying midwifery across wildly different settings
-Why "positive deviance" studying practices already succeeding may be the key to spreading what works
-The four levels of barriers and facilitators to integration: patient, provider, organization, and system
-Practical steps any clinician can take today to identify and share what's working in their own practice
Whether you're a clinician, researcher, or midwifery advocate, this conversation offers a roadmap for moving midwifery care from proven to prevalent!
Listen now and subscribe to Speaking of Midwives, brought to you by the Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health.
Credentials: Brie Thumm, PhD, CNM, RN, MBA, FACNM
Article: A Synthesis of Principles and Approaches From the Field of Implementation Science for Studying Midwifery Integration in the United States – Thumm – Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health – Wiley Online Library
Related article mentioned during the episode
Curran, G. M. (2020). Implementation science made too simple: a teaching tool. Implementation science communications, 1(1), 27.
Social Media: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/e-brie-thumm-b5580249
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