Happy new year

New year blog post

Hey guys and a very happy new year from a very stressed but determined student midwife! Having just finished a gruelling 3 month period on placement as a 3rd and final year student midwife, I am very happy to be settling in to a few months in university studying for our final exams and preparing the dreaded dissertation due to be submitted in April. It has been a crazy couple of months for me as I have begun to embark on my final year as a student before I qualify as a midwife and the next chapter of my story begins.

In the build up to the Christmas holidays I was working with the public health midwife for the community zone that I work in. A public health midwife specialises in women who have complex social factors happening parallel to the pregnancy, whether this be an involvement of social services, younger or more vulnerable women or sometimes just those who need the extra help and support. A vital part of the job role for a public health midwife is engaging with other services in the community to ensure that the woman is able to gain access to as much information and support as she needs to aid the progression of the pregnancy and prepare her as she continues into motherhood. Commonly a public health midwife will work with the multi-disciplinary team; a team which can include many different services such as social services, immigration and legal teams, shelter and other housing charities, alcohol and substance abuse support services, domestic violence support and advice charities, and psychological support services. Although the NHS receives funding for many services needed in pregnancy, a lot of the extra support comes from charitable organisations and it is the public health midwife’s job to be aware of these and be able to appropriately refer women who require their help. These specialist midwives can completely transform the pregnancies of women who are suffering under their circumstances. Routine maternity appointments with these midwives are longer then normal allowing the midwives to really craft the relationship required to gain the trust needed from the women to allow them to receive the help they need. Often these relationships can last for years with the midwives continuing to support women into the first few months of motherhood and even to further pregnancies in the future, allowing a great bond to form between the two parties – a bond that can make the difference between life and death for some families.

Although the time I spent with this midwife was at times very emotionally difficult seeing the way that some women suffer at the hands of their circumstances, it was a great opportunity to get in touch with the services and charities available for women in vulnerable conditions and make note of these to take with me into my practice as a qualified midwife. The work these midwives do really changes the lives for their women, some of which have potentially never had anyone who has looked out for them in their lives before. The experience has opened my eyes for the suffering of people and how this affects their entire lives and in time potentially a pregnancy- a time in someone’s life which should be one of the happiest is darkened by something that is often out of their control. I have learnt so much about both myself and my practice, I have had the opportunity to challenge my own perceptions and naiveties and have met some inspirational people who do some great work for our communities. Overall I am certain that I will make a better future midwife because of my work with the public health midwives.