Student midwife due to qualify this year. AMA.

[Anonymous2003]

Thought this may be fun :)
Please no questions seeking medical advice

Are you a career changer?

@Teapleasemilknosugar no, I went straight into the degree after leaving school. But there are many people on the course who have gone for a career change.

What reasons would a midwife not give in to a mum asking for an epidural? Full labour with no breaks between contractions and asked for epidural as soon as I got to the labour room? 4 hours between that and giving birth.

@kjv1234 it's hard to say when you didn't care for someone first hand. However, midwives would work with anaethetists to use their clinical judgement - we don't want to give an epidural too early in labour or too close to delivery.
Another reason would be if somebody's white blood cell count was below the threshold for an epidural. Anaethetists are very particular about blood results needing to be perfect for them.
However it is standard practice to offer a vaginal examination every 4 hours during established labour to assess progress. If a woman was not fully dilated and was in a lot of pain with no other risk factors I wouldn't see a reason to not allow an epidural and if I did I would discuss this with the woman.
Apologies for the long winded answer. I'm sorry to hear your labour sounded difficult :(

How are you feeling about qualifying?

@Lookingbackpostmeno very very scared for many reasons! But excited at the same time. It will be so nice to be able to work independently but the job comes with colossal responsibility. We do have a preceptorship programme when we qualify at least.

Bit niche this, but would a woman who'd had spinal fusion for scoliosis be at any additional risks? Or would there be a recommendation to have a C section?

What’s the worst thing a birthing partner has said/done?

What drew you to midwifery? Is it something you’ve always wanted to do?

@nervouslandlord This woman would be under the care of the obstetric team for her antenatal care, rather than midwife-led care. It would be up to them to make the calls.

@Brightandbreezey I haven't been subject to any abusive partners so far thankfully. But some partners have been very uninterested, sit on their phones and barely pay any attention to their loved one who is in pain.
One guy left his partner straight after she had a csection to go and have a coffee in the canteen with his mum!!

Once you qualify would you be looking to work in a hospital or community setting? And why?

@Cosycore sounds cheesy but it was kind of a calling? I wanted to do something that will benefit others. Midwifery is so vast and its a lifelong learning career. Nursing never interested me whatsoever, I love caring for women and their families.

@Sesame2011 definitely the hospital. Going straight into community is not the norm (although it is becoming more common). You are very much on your own and will be on call to attend homebirths. A lot of knowledge is required to be a community midwife. Not good when you are straight out of uni!
Mon-Fri 9-5 is not for me atm. I much prefer long shifts and having days off in between. Hospital is more exciting whereas I find community quite reptitive.

Now you've seen what women go through to give birth, has it put you off having your own babies?

@Notonyourjelly haha I get asked this a lot 😁not at all, if anything it has been reassuring as I know what goes on, what can happen and have seen all types of births. I imagine it would be very daunting going in to give birth when you've never been in the environment before.

Do you mean platelets rather than white blood cells? Sorry to jump in, I just think it’s important to give correct information.

Do you not find it a bit gross? (blood, guts, poo) you need a strong stomach for some of the things you see no doubt! The student midwife at my last baby's birth looked absolutely horrified 🙈

On a darker note, have you witnessed a traumatic birth yet? It must be awful.

Sorry that’s not right at all! Scoliosis surgery does not, in itself present any additional risks or mean you cannot be midwife led.

The key point is where your surgery extends to and whether this could potentially cause issues with getting an epidural or spinal in. If your surgery does not go down very far you will likely be able to have exactly the same pregnancy experience as everyone else, just with a bit more care taken by the anaesthetist.

There is usually no reason you cannot have a natural birth unless your surgery was very extensive or extends very far down.

@nervouslandlord feel free to PM me if you need to.

Midwives are amazing. Why I know there is luck of the draw involved my birth could have gotten dodgy but thanks to my incredible midwife my birth was a genuinely positive experience, ill be grateful for her forever.

You said it was a calling. As its the beginning of your career, anything you wish was different in how society deals with childbirth, any personal philosophies?

@Mama05070704 @Notanothermumma i am learning everyday 😊

@Thornybush i've definitely developed a strong stomach. You become desensitised and just focus on the task at hand. Some things I used to be a bit squeamish about, are things I enjoy doing now :)
as for traumatic births, yes I have seen some not very nice instrumental deliveries and 3rd degree tears which can be very distressing for women.
I think the idea of birth in most peoples heads is very clinical and scary, think a woman in a white room with her legs in stirrups screaming. People don't realise that births can be very calm!

@Wolfhat the last part of my previous comment was in response to your question

I would love to be a midwife but I have emetophobia and unfortunately it means I could never, I feel sad about it though as I am sure I would have loved it as a career.

My own experience of birth was that it was hell! I was in absolute agony and because of a heart condition was high risk, that did give me the benefit of my own room throughout and extra support but it was so clinical, I had to stay flat on my back on the bed because I had wires in my chest and monitors etc. I often wonder if I'd have been in less pain and distress if I could have got off the bed, had dimmed lights/music etc rather than the stark bright white of the room.