to point out that it would be a midwife looking after you during pregnancy, birth and afterwards>?

[AtYourCervix]

just flicking through the 'Worst bit of giving birth' thread (yes i know, threads about threads) and am surprised by how many people said somthing about 'the nurse' doing x, y or z.

unless you are all in the states it would be a midwife. Nurses don't do bith. There is a huge difference and it is a completely different profession - much the same as suggesting that the physiotherapist gave you a filling or somesuch.

[socialhandgrenade]

I feel your pain. I am an Occupational Therapist. If I had a pound for everyone who thought I give careers advice

[AtYourCervix]

[VivaLeBeaver]

Tell me about it. I'm a midwife and must get called "nurse" at least once a day.

[AtYourCervix]

Why do midwives wear nurse uniforms?


my colleagues don't understand why this upsets me so much but it drives me bonkers. for the average person, someone in a hospital, wearing a blue tunic, is a nurse. I don't like it.

[ObiWan]

I don't suppose they wear the same uniform everywhere. Here the HCAs/nurses/midwives all wear different colours.

It used to be the case that midwives qualified as nurses before doing further training, I think the direct entry route is relatively new.

[ENormaSnob]

Yanbu

my midwife uniform is blue with grey trim

my nurse one is blue with White trim

[carocaro]

In the UK you get a midwife for about a week if you are lucky and then it's a health visitor, you can go see a midwife at a weekly clinic if you need to.

[ruddynorah]

People who just had a baby don't look at the trim on your uniform. You may know who all yoyr colleagues are but no, generally the public don't know who's an auxiliary, or a midwife, or a nurse etc. I think most people think a midwife is a nurse with extra training, like a hv is. But obv now there is direct entry.

[AurraSing]

My grandfather called every women in a hospital "nurse" regardless of the uniform they wear. Doctors, admin staff, cleaners you name it. Didn't go down too well.

[HauntedLittleLunatic]

At the risk of getting flamed....

I am well aware that it Is a mw that does all the hands on maternity type stuff.

Bit I had assumed that there were nurses/health care assistants/nursing auxiliaries which I have probably mislabelled, but basically healthcare staff to offer support on a ward which don't have midwife quals but that could administer some care to the mother as a patient as a nurse would on any other ward. These would be in addition to the midwifery staff on.the ward not in place of.

[LilBB]

YABU. How the bloody hell should we know who is who. I know (through my sister training as a nurse) that different people have different uniforms and this differs between hospitals. However how are patients supposed to know, we aren't given a guide to uniforms on entry. People also use the word nurse to mean auxiliary or health care assistant.

[BartletForAmerica]

When I was admitted with hyperemesis, I was definitely looked after by a nurse, rather than a midwife. There were midwives around, but she was a nurse.

(And I am a doctor, so I do know these things!)

[yoshiLunk]

How the bloody hell should we know who is who In the case of a midwife - which is what we are talking about here - I would not need a "uniform guide" to assume that the lovely lady manhandling my fanjo and giving me helpful pointers in how to get a watermelon out of said fanjo, is almost definitely going to be a midwife and not a common or garden nurse.

OP YANBU

[VivaLeBeaver]

Where I work if you're admitted to hospital under twenty weeks gestation you will be looked after by a nurse as you're put on gynae ward.

I suppose I think it's a bit odd as I work on labour ward and would have thought that most women would have realised that the person looking after them in labour would be a midwife. I don't bother correcting them though, doesn't really matter. I know who I am.

A female friend of mine had to do four weeks on a general medical ward as part of her midwifery training. My friend had quite short, punky spiked red hair and one bloke on the ward used to refer to her as "boy". He'd shout "boy" across the ward at her when he wanted her. Made me laugh.

[BartletForAmerica]

Viva, I was 26/40 and on a postnatal ward (because they wanted to give me a side room - best not to bump into patients while a patient myself!)

She was definitely a nurse.

[mousymouse]

yabu only when the person in question introduces him/herself ad midwife do you know it is a midwife.

[LIZS]

Aren't there Nursing Auxiliaries on maternity wards too ?

[EndaHoran]

What do you call a midwife? Is it like "hello Doctor", "hello Nurse", "hello Midwife"? It sounds rude for some reason, like "hello Mechanic".

[dutchyoriginal]

Netherlands probably different, but in the labour ward there were midwives and nurses and gynaecologists, all women in similar white uniforms. I was having contractions every 1-2 mins, so a bit distracted. It's quite possible I have misaddressed one or two of them during the three hours I was there.

[LilBB]

Well yes I knew the midwife was delivering my baby as she introduced herself as such. However on the postnatal ward I saw lot of people eg when asking for painkillers, water, help with feeding and I couldn't tell you if the person who came to me was a midwife, nurse, healthcare assistant, student or a cleaner!!

[MrsCarriePooter]

LilBB "on the postnatal ward you saw a lot of people"? Bl**dy hell. Painkillers, water, help with feeding... If I'd seen ANYONE in uniform I'd have been delighted, couldn't give a toss about the colour of their trim!

[rainbowtoenails]

Social- what does an occupational therapist do? Ive always wondered.

[Disasterpiece]

Im slightly amused by the fact no one has thought to look at badges!

On a side note my fantastic mum, who recently retired after 45 years working on the same ante natal unit, being the manager, running a still birth charity, has just won a massive award and has been put forward for another one.

I doubt she would like being called a nurse.

Not that theres anything wrong with being a nurse but its like calling a checkout assistant a builder. Two very different things indeed.

[janinlondon]

I didn't see a midwife during my UK NHS hospital pregnancy and birth, and they never came to see me at home after the birth either....?

[mousymouse]

but the badges are often dangling in the crotch area, are upside-down or plastic bit to front...

• you are kind of busy when giving birth and after when coming to terms with having an actual new person to look after.