Introduction: Midwives working in birth suite environments are frequently exposed to high workloads and traumatic clinical events, contributing to elevated stress, burnout, and workforce attrition. Improving understanding of both perceived and biological stress is essential to support midwife wellbeing and sustain high-quality maternity care.
Aims: The primary aim of the SCOPE study is to assess perceived and biological stress levels in midwives providing intrapartum care at Sunshine Coast Health. Secondary aims are to identify work-related and personal factors associated with stress.
Methods: This mixed-methods observational study will recruit midwives rostered to birth suite intrapartum shifts at Sunshine Coast Health. At baseline, participants will complete surveys capturing demographics, workload and personal demands, job satisfaction, and compassion fatigue. Over a 30-day monitoring period, midwives will complete brief pre- and post-shift questionnaires and provide salivary cortisol samples at the start and end of each shift. A final exit survey will document significant events occurring during the study period. Quantitative survey data will be analysed alongside salivary cortisol concentrations to examine associations between perceived and biological stress measures.
Results: Project planning and ethics approval is underway. Outcome measures will include changes in salivary cortisol across shifts and associations with self-reported stress, workload, and wellbeing indicators. Full results will be reported following study completion.
Conclusions and relevance: The SCOPE study will provide novel insights into midwife stress by integrating subjective and biological measures. Findings will directly inform staff wellbeing initiatives at Sunshine Coast Health and guide strategies to improve midwife retention and maternity care outcomes.