Looking after pregnant women is all about preparing for the ‘big event’, labour, birth and becoming parents.
What you will realise is that there is a lot of fear surrounding childbirth, mainly because women are not kind to one another and like to describe their birth as a horror story. There are programmes like ‘One Born Every Minute, showing a screaming birth (much more dramatic TV than a calm and straight-forward one!) which can add to the stress of preparing to have a baby.
Then there is the limited time to educate about the choices and reasoning behind choosing a birth place, pain relief and other choices that just are not addressed in a limited antenatal clinic appointment.
SO…as a midwife you need to:
- Be factual about the process of labour
- Be evidenced based about why we offer the care we do
- Individualise the options depending on what the woman’s needs
- Empower women to make choices that are best for them
- Support those who may want to explore available choices
- Read journals so that you can talk about relevant research and how that impacts the care we give
- Make sure when you say that you will do something, DO IT, once a woman loses confidence in the care that you provide- you can’t get that back
- Recognise the women that need more support or encouragement
- Be aware of the boundary between professional and friend, you will meet women that want to cross that boundary
“how would I like someone to treat my sister?”
That is how I care for everyone, so that everyone feels special and valued during their pregnancy and birth.
And here are some of the don’ts
- Promise anything as it can only lead to disappointment
- Befriend anyone on social media, that is a definite no-no
- Talk on the bus, train (or anywhere else that is public) about work, walls have ears!
- Offer to do too many extra shifts, as it can be easy to burn that candle and when you have annual leave you’ll end up nursing a cold.
- Don’t forget to reflect on your learning experiences
- Don’t throw away any thank you cards, as when you have a bad shift and you question being a midwife, you can sit down and read the cards and it reminds you how lucky you are.
- Promise anything as it can only lead to disappointment
- Befriend anyone on social media, that is a definite no-no
- Talk on the bus, train (or anywhere else that is public) about work, walls have ears!
- Offer to do too many extra shifts, as it can be easy to burn that candle and when you have annual leave you’ll end up nursing a cold.
- Don’t forget to reflect on your learning experiences
- Don’t throw away any thank you cards, as when you have a bad shift and you question being a midwife, you can sit down and read the cards and it reminds you how lucky you are.
