It's not about the babies (Midwife)

Member Name: iolaus

Product:	Midwife
Date:	10/11/08 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bringing a new life into the world is a priviledge

Disadvantages: A huge responsibility and devastating when things go wrong

If you are considering midwifery because you love babies then stop reading now. Midwife means 'with woman' and that does sum up the aim of the job, although sometimes you end up snarled in the politics of the NHS, unless you brave it and go independent (I feel I need the security of a regular wage and can't commit to the on call commitment 24 7 so am in the NHS although I would love all women to have this level of care - maybe when my kids are older.)

As a midwife you care for women (and their babies) throughout pregnancy, labour and birth till 28 days afterwards. If the pregnancy is straightforward then you can be the sole care provider from start to finish, however you are also expected to recognise the abnormal, deal with it if it's an emergency and get appropriate input from doctors when you then work in conjunction with them. As well as the medical side of their care you also have a responsibility to their mental well being, this can lead to involvement with psychiatrists, social services even down to helping sort out their benefits. The responsibility of having, at times literally, two lives in your hands is huge and difficult to realise until it happens to you. I thought I knew both before entering the profession and throughout my training but it hit me afterwards as colleagues had warned me it would.

Helping a new life into this world is a privilege and most of the times it is a happy occasion, but not all babies are welcome and not all babies survive - as a midwife you are there to support the woman through the bad times as well as the good. This leads to an emotional rollercoaster which I believe is not matched by any other career. The highs are amazing but the lows are as low as you can get, however the good outweighs the bad and if you have that nagging voice in your head telling you midwifery is for you then you won't be content in life unless you give in and become a midwife.

Most midwives work in hospitals which involves shifts and weekend work (I know that seems obvious but I've heard someone say they want to be a midwife to get a 9-5 job), often you don't get a huge deal of notice which is a pain. Clinic midwives work 9-5 Monday to Friday but don't have any autonomy and lose a lot of their skills if they are there a long time. Community midwives often work 'normal' hours (although this includes weekends) but are on call for homebirths and some rotate into the hospital.

There are two ways of entry into the profession in the UK, all of which involve university and either a diploma or a degree (the diploma is being phased out, Wales is already degree only and England and Scotland look set to follow suit). The work is split between theory (in university - complete with essays and exams) and practical work (working alongside a midwife completing a minimum of 100 antenatal checks, 100 postnatal checks, delivering 40 babies (and placentas) and caring for 40 women having complications) Direct Entry (which takes a minimum of three years) allows you to qualify as a midwife, the shortened course (18 months) is only available to registered Adult Nurses (although there is talk of this being cut drastically). If you are 100% sure that midwifery is for you I would go for direct entry, if there is a smidge of doubt the Nurse first is probably a better option as you do have more options if you want to leave (for example Health Visiting). Whichever route you follow the qualification at the end is the same and neither will give you any advantage over other newly qualified midwives.
Although it is all over the news about the shortage of midwives there is difficulty finding jobs in some areas, others are better - however there is often a few months gap between training and starting work even if you are lucky enough to secure work immediately.

Summary: Being with a woman through the most emotional time in her life and supporting her through this.