An Ethnographic Study of the Philosophy, Culture and Practices Within an Urban Freestanding Midwifery Unit

First in a four part series. Service users and providers deserve to engage with healthcare systems that are functional, evidence-based and engender positive experiences. Current and recurrent maternity scandals urge us to explore the key characteristics of well-performing services as well as those which fail. Theory generation is important for the progress of maternity care, safety improvement and enhancing organisational culture. This ethnographic study explored the key characteristics of a well-functioning Freestanding Midwifery Unit (FMU) and also embedded a systematic review of evidence on Midwifery Units (MUs) in high income settings, to create logic models.