AIM: The aim of this study was to explore healthcare professionals' perceptions of adverse events during childbirth with focus on communication and teamwork.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate communication, a poor teamwork climate and insufficient team training are harmful to women. Reviews of reported adverse events can be used to develop a safety culture based on preparedness for preventing adverse events and strengthening patient safety.

DESIGN: Action research principles were used to facilitate the implementation and evaluation of this study.

METHODS: An interprofessional team of healthcare professionals comprising obstetricians, registered midwives and assistant nurses employed at a labour ward agreed to take part. Data were collected from multistage focus group interviews (March 2016 - June 2016) and analysed by means of interpretative thematic analysis.

FINDINGS: Two analytical themes based on five sub-themes emerged; Promoting interprofessional teamwork and Building capabilities by involving healthcare professionals and elucidating relevant strategies. The findings reveal the importance of facilitating relationships based on trust and respectful communication to ensure a safe environment and provide safe maternity care.

CONCLUSION: There is a need for formal and informal support for quality interprofessional teamwork. Research on patient safety may reduce adverse events related to miscommunication and poor teamwork. We recommend different forms of communication and teamwork training in interprofessional teams to increase the ability to provide feedback. Accumulated research is required for the evaluation of evidence-based models in the patient safety context. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.