Monthly Archives: December 2011

Sarah - “Although delivering babies must often be stressful, I imagine that there is often humour to be found in the way the fathers react to the whole process. What’s the funniest reaction you’ve seen from a new father?”

Hi Sarah,

The funniest incident I remember was when a newly appointed hospital porter was ushered quickly into a room where a woman was about to give birth. The midwife thought he was her partner, and the porter thought he must be needed. He was positioned by the woman’s head, and the midwife instructed him ‘I think she needs you!’ He kindly got hold of her hand thinking this was part of his role…and the woman accepted it graciously. The truth was only revealed when the baby was born and the ‘real’ partner arrived on the scene! Luckily, everyone saw the funny side of the story….but it could’ve gone dreadfully wrong! The porter had such a tale to tell when he got home….if he dared!

Mary - “Why do you think it is that lots of women have never heard about a birth centre and only know about hospital birth? Do you think women have more options now when they’re pregnant or is was it better years ago?”

Hi Mary,

Many women don’t know about birth centres because they have never seen or heard of them due to them being absent in the area where they live. In the 1980′s when I worked in a GP unit (like a birth centre) women saw it as a ‘normal’ option and preferred to go there instead of the hospital. Sadly hospital birth is more likely to be viewed as the safest place to have a baby, even when there are no expected complications. We could argue when things are ‘going right’, hospital is not necessarily the best place to be and can be the cause of things going wrong as women enter what has been described as the cascade of intervention. Women have much more options now. There is a greater focus on offering a choice of type of care or approaches to coping in labour. However, I feel that some of the options, for example screening tests in pregnancy, put too much pressure on expectant couples as they grapple with so much information and then are expected to make crucial decisions.

Lucinda - “With my mother as a senior Healthcare Assistant/ student nurse (degree course) in our local hospital and my sister who is a Senior Sister at St. Thomas’ in London on a high Dependency ward, I (along with various family members) are naturally interested in all aspects of nursing and medical care. My sister before her training was adamant about taking a Midwifery training course but due to advice she decided against it and undertook a ’2,000 scheme’ of general practise so that she could have an idea of all aspects of care before specialising. My question is:

1. Do you feel that it is better to get a generalised idea of practise and then decide if you are still interested in Midwifery afterwards, or should one go strait ahead for it?

2. Do you think that nurses’ standards these days (in any sphere) have dropped – or risen – due to the more ‘academic’ qualifications they are required to have as well as practical experience… And sometimes more so than the practical?

Dear Lucinda,

1. I am a nurse and also a midwife, and I have to say when I studied to be and worked as a midwife my previously learnt knowledge and experience in nursing helped when caring for women with medical conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. But I don’t think it is necessary to have general nursing background to be a good midwife; in fact many of the best midwives I know are ‘direct entry’ midwives.

2. I don’t think nursing standards have dropped really, but the workload for nurses/midwives has changed radically and I do feel bureaucracy and form filling has shifted the focus somewhat. There seems to be an increasing ‘fear’ culture and due to the pressure of work sometimes ‘caring’ for patients is forgotten. I believe academic qualifications are important, especially for nurses when they are expected to fully understand the implications of treatments they administer , or for midwives when they need to push boundaries to support women’s choices.

Alison - “This book is a fabulous journey through your career. Do you think that hospital trusts should be visiting schools at options stages to encourage a future as a midwife? 

Yes, there is a desperate shortage of midwives and the Royal College of Midwives are urging the Government to agree to recruit the equivalent of 5000 more full-time midwives. Going into schools to talk to students is an excellent idea, although there is no shortage of applicants to study midwifery, the problem lies in available posts once qualified.

Special thanks to Sheena for her fantastic answers, and thanks to all of you that got involved!

(Image courtesy of the Clitheroe Advertiser & Times)