Active Listening and Professional Relationships in Midwifery
With Emma and Ethan, Academic Skills Specialist
Key Takeaways
- Active listening is intentional.
- It means giving your full attention, not formulating your response while someone's still speaking, and demonstrating through verbal and non-verbal cues that you've heard and understood.
- Even small things matter — putting down your pen, facing the woman, not looking at the computer screen.
- The physical signal that you're fully present matters as much as the time you allocate.
- Reflecting back — paraphrasing what you heard.
Listen to This Episode
Full interactive lesson available inside the course — Start learning →
Full Transcript
Emma: Welcome to Active Listening and Professional Relationships in Midwifery. I'm Emma, and with me is Ethan, our Academic Skills Specialist. Ethan, active listening — what distinguishes it from just hearing what someone says?
Ethan: Active listening is intentional. It means giving your full attention, not formulating your response while someone's still speaking, and demonstrating through verbal and non-verbal cues that you've heard and understood.
Emma: In a busy antenatal clinic, that sounds challenging. How do midwives create space for genuine listening?
Ethan: Even small things matter — putting down your pen, facing the woman, not looking at the computer screen. The physical signal that you're fully present matters as much as the time you allocate.
Emma: What techniques help demonstrate active listening in practice?
What should learners understand about active listening and professional relationships in midwifery?
Ethan: Reflecting back — paraphrasing what you heard. Clarifying questions. Summarising at the end of a conversation. And silence — being comfortable with pauses rather than filling them immediately can allow women to say what they actually need to say.
Emma: Professional relationships in midwifery go beyond the woman-midwife relationship. Who else is in that professional network?
Ethan: Obstetricians, neonatologists, anaesthetists, health visitors, social workers, GPs, and community midwives. Midwifery is deeply multidisciplinary. Building effective professional relationships across that team is central to safe care.
Emma: How are professional relationships in midwifery governed? Are there formal frameworks?
Ethan: Yes — the NMC Code sets out what professional relationships should look like. Respectful, honest, and in the best interests of women and babies. There are also clear boundaries around confidentiality, professional conduct, and avoiding dual relationships.
How does active listening and professional relationships in midwifery work in a healthcare context?
Emma: Professional boundaries — these can be subtle in midwifery where the relationship is often close and emotionally significant. How do midwives maintain them?
Ethan: By keeping the focus on the woman's needs rather than your own. Sharing personal stories, accepting gifts, maintaining contact outside the professional role — these can all blur boundaries in ways that create risk.
Emma: What about conflict in professional relationships — with colleagues, for instance? How should that be handled?
Ethan: Directly but respectfully. The challenge in healthcare is that unresolved conflict can affect patient safety. Speaking up — even when it's uncomfortable — is a professional responsibility. A culture that suppresses challenge is dangerous.
Emma: The concept of psychological safety in teams comes up a lot in NHS reports after serious incidents. Can you explain that?
How does active listening and professional relationships in midwifery work in a healthcare context?
Ethan: Psychological safety is the sense that you can raise a concern, ask a question, or admit an error without fear of humiliation or punishment. Teams with high psychological safety have better outcomes. It's built through leadership modelling honesty and openness.
Emma: Ethan, for a student who's naturally anxious about professional relationships — any reassurance or guidance?
Ethan: Professional relationships are built through consistent, respectful behaviour over time. You don't need to be charismatic or confident from day one. Show up prepared, listen well, ask questions, and treat everyone — cleaner to consultant — with equal respect. That foundation will carry you far.