First week of placement as an official second year

My placement this time is three weeks on a postnatal ward, unfortunately it is the postnatal ward I had a bad experience on the last time and the midwives aren’t known for being the nicest... However I went in there with the best intentions and promising to myself to keep motivated and not let any nasty moods ruin this learning experience for me.

I’ve had two different preceptors this week, neither of them were that into me getting involved, I haven’t once been asked to feel a fundus or do anything much more exciting than obs and weighing a baby. Once I took my own initiative though, offering to help the health care assistant and other more friendly midwives I got to do lots of baby baths (a great way to interact with parents), bring back a report from the neo for a woman whose twins were there (she appreciated it so much) and giving feeds for mums who needed help. Answering the call bells has been a saviour for me! It lets me spend some time with the women without a midwife over my shoulder, allowing me to chat to them and support them. One call bell summoned me to a woman needing help latching the baby, I was about to produce my usual phrase “I’ll just go get a midwife for you” when instead I felt I could help her myself-I felt competent! Together we managed to get the baby latched and feeding well, I was very pleased with myself. Next time however, I will remember to stay for the feed to observe it and chat to the mum, I only remembered afterwards I should have done this.

I also grew quite fond of a one particular couple and their twin boys the last two days! One time I had been asked to give one of the babes a formula feed (she was breastfeeding), it was the third day and she’d barely slept at all and couldn’t stop the tears, I just sat, reassured and chatted to her. Another time I spent about 45 minutes with her, showed her how to express and made her some fennel tea she’d brought with her-something no-one else had offered to her. Later that day her partner thanked me for spending that time with her. After she managed to get some sleep we went and bathed the boys, I bathed the first and showed them how it was done and then dad bathed the second, we managed to have a laugh and I felt like I was a valuable part of their care. As I left last night I wished them good luck and they said they think I’m going to be a wonderful midwife, soft spoken and gentle-it was a lovely end to my week and really uplifted me.

Also gave my first bed bath yesterday, not nearly as ‘scary’ as I thought it would be! The woman was lovely, I chatted to her about osteopathy and she said she found it really helpful and will be bringing her little newborn to it next week. I probably did the completely wrong thing as a healthcare professional, but I told her I thought that was great! Oh well...I’m not doing this to be the best ‘healthcare professional’ by the rules, but to be the best midwife I can be. 

Being the best midwife I can be means supporting, understanding, showing empathy and being friendly and kind to these amazing women and their babies.

My first time assisting a birth!

So I’d been on the labour ward for two very long and tiring 12 hour shifts, on my the third and final day of the week the ward manager proclaims it’s my time to deliver a baby! I felt very nervous then, especially as the midwife I’d been told to work with wasn’t very sure about it having just been qualified herself. Instead of freaking out, I accepted. I knew it was going to have to happen soon, I just didn’t think it would be coming now.

The mother’s epidural had already started working by the time I arrived and she seemed happy and relaxed. Being her second baby she wasn’t the anxious first time mum. We knew she was 4-5cm and of course didn’t know how much longer her labour could be, as with all, and so the waiting game was in session.  Mum was sleepy so I let her sleep, only disturbing her for the routine temperature and blood pressure takings (something I’m growing so accustomed to now).  I read her notes a few times over, each time understanding a little more of midwifery shorthand and doctors scrawls. A lot of fiddling with the CTG machine to stop it making the alarming noises that were worrying dad! Having a machine interpret the natural human body patterns will always seem to me to be strange... Why interfere with nature in the first place?

When the time came for mama to start pushing, she couldn’t feel much... but with some good (directed) pushes baby came down very quickly. Even if I don’t like ‘purple pushing’ (take a deep breath, close your mouth and push, no, don’t make a sound) unfortunately most women with an epidural are unable to feel their bodies telling them to push and need this coaching... When baby was nearly here another more senior midwife came in to help, she was great! As the midwife I was working with felt unsure about teaching a student, this midwife knew just what to do! She grabbed my arm and hand from where it was hovering apprehensively over the midwife’s hand and placed it in the correct position on the other side of the baby’s head. At this point I wasn’t really sure what my hand was meant to be doing... I let it support babies head and apply a little pressure, it felt about right. I followed the action of the other midwife as best I could, concentrating as if my life depended on it! ‘Pant, pant, pant’ was being instructed alongside ‘now a little push’ as the baby’s head slowly emerged into the world, squashed and looking rather displeased with its fortune! I noted its slow rotation as the midwife hooked her finger round the cord and pulled it over the baby’s head. The next push was the final as me and the midwife wriggled the babies shoulders free and the rest of her body flew out with a big gush of amniotic fluid-which I noticed with surprise was warm, of course, but this was something I’d never thought of before! Baby was out! Everyone was smiling with joy as me and the midwife fumbled with cord clamps and I handed dad the scissors to perform his ritualistic task. A beautiful and big healthy girl, with generous Apgars of 9 and 10, was new in the world and I’d been a part of her entrance. I was and will remain forever delighted with my first participation in a birth!

However, a midwives work does not finish there. As the primary midwife went off to get a number for this baby who hadn’t a name yet, the task of delivering the afterbirth lay to me. With direction from the senior midwife I managed ok, well I think anyway! When told to apply traction I was scared of pulling to hard, I got the hang of it though once the placenta began to separate. I felt silly when being told off for wrapping the cord around the clamp as I’d seen before, no need for this, I was told; just move the clamp further up. I then felt like a real grown up midwife when I caught the placenta and knew to allow the membranes to follow. I felt so happy to be trusted with inspecting for tears. The praise from the midwife felt amazing and I have not stopped smiling since!