Acceptability
Nearly 97% of women who completed the postnatal survey in the intervention group reported they would prefer a POPPIE midwife to be the main person for their maternity care. All women interviewed described their satisfaction with various aspects of the continuity model such as having direct access to their midwife and the team (mobile number to call and text anytime; flexibility in timing and location of visits); building a relationship over time (personalised advice, involvement of the family) and receiving coordinated care (consistency of information, practical support). Most midwives delivering the intervention highlighted positive elements of working in the POPPIE team including autonomy over own diary; job satisfaction through providing continuity and being part of research; a supportive team, and team culture, and access to training and development. Some reported flexible working and weekly on calls enhanced their work-life balance, whilst others reported exactly the same features disrupted their work-life balance, particularly during periods of sickness or annual leave, when the flexibility that the team depended on causes midwives to ‘stand in’ for each other on days off and to volunteer for ‘informal’ or ‘silent’ on calls. Overall, two midwives left the team but new team members were promptly recruited to replace them.