“What Is a Good Birth? How Do We Know?”

"When you look at published data on a controversial topic, it is pretty easy to discover bias,” says Raymond De Vries, PhD, MA, the keynote speaker of the 2014 Terri Murtland Lecture. Dr. De Vries, who used the comparison of hospital and home births, says, “Bias can cause harm if the data are used to make treatment decisions.  We all need to be aware that the prejudices we bring to data influence what we find there.” De Vries co-directs the University of Michigan Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine, is a Professor in U-M’s Department of Medical Education and a visiting professor at CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, University of Maastricht, the Netherlands.

 

“This year’s lecture really challenged all of us to think about the ways in which we interpret and then use evidence in our practice,” says University of Michigan School of Nursing (UMSN) Associate Professor Lisa Kane Low, PhD, CNM, FACNM. “The conversation Dr. De Vries encouraged all of us to have was across disciplines and across perspectives, acknowledging we all have some types of bias but also encouraging us to reflect on what they might be and how they can be a barrier to promoting best care.”

 

Clinical Associate Professor Ruth Zielinski, PhD, CNM, FACNM, agreed the lecture was not only beneficial to active practitioners and researchers but also students. “The feedback was that they felt inspired and energized, and all wanted to do research on birth settings with Drs. Kane Low and De Vries,” she says. “I envision graduates of our UMSN’s Nurse-midwifery program in a variety of birth settings, collaborating on research projects for years to come to answer the really good questions that Dr. De Vries brought up.”

 

The lecture was made possible by Terri Murtland’s mother, Audrey. Terri was considered a pioneer of midwifery at U-M, before she passed away in 2008 after a battle with cancer. She was a highly respected member of the Nurse-Midwifery Service at U-M Health System, researcher, clinician and teacher. In its six years, the lectureship has welcomed guest speakers from around the world and focused not only on midwifery but also on topics such as quality and safety initiatives, evidence-based practice, and living servant leadership.

 

Immediately preceding the lecture was the announcement of the 2014 Terri Murtland Scholarship. It was awarded to Danielle Douglas, who is enrolled in UMSN’s dual Nurse Midwife and Family Nurse Practitioner master’s program, designed to prepare her for dual certification as a CNM and FNP after graduate to work as a Family Nurse Midwife. Douglas received her BSN from UMSN, has worked as a birth doula for four years, and hopes to work in an area that needs practitioners such as a rural setting, as well as internationally. She’d also like to utilize her FNM degree to provide improved continuity of care for mothers, babies, and the rest of the family beyond the childbearing year.

 

 "I am thankful for the generosity of Terri's family and their commitment to continuing to support midwifery in her name,” says Douglas. “I am honored that Terri's mother and the rest of selection committee chose me. The scholarship will allow me to focus more on my education and less on what I need to do to finance it. It is an invaluable gift."

 

“Terri Murtland was a colleague and teacher to so many us that it is really gratifying to see her memory honored annually,” says Dr. Kane Low.  “She inspired us all to provide the best care possible as part of a team, getting the right care at the right time by the right team member.  The lecture asked us to reflect on those values and the student selected for the scholarship has already begun to put those values into place in her clinical practice.  We are really indebted to the Murtland Family for their generosity and vision in providing the support for this annual midwifery scholarship and lectureship.”