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.

mousy I always look at badges and want to know names and job titles before any HCP touches me or my baby.

Jin how did you not see one midwife?

When I was in labour everyone introduced themselves and gave their title even as we rushed to theatre to try and get my stubborn DD out. I have visions still of the theatre tech popping her head up from between my legs saying 'Hello I'm Susan the theatre tech'. Even in that stressful moment I remember there was an anaesthetist, an anaesthesia tech, a specialist reg (doc), two midwives, a theatre tech and a NICU nurse.

MrsCarriePooter I saw people when I pressed my call button and asked for those things but I didn't get them. I was given promises of 'be back in a few mins' or 'I'll just get so and so'. I asked 6 times for painkillers as my stitches where painful and in the end I got my husband to bring them in.

I know disasterpiece! It was a bit odd really......

That relieves me! (although still - your call button produced someone - I only got the vague promises if I tracked them down at the nurses midwives' station.)

Sorry Jan not jin, seriously, did you really not see one midwife? You must have.

Yep, was def looked after by a midwife (three, actually, cos it took so bloody long) while in labour and giving birth. But as I had a CS and DS had positional talipies (sp?) we had to stay in afterwards for 48 hours, and I definitely saw lots of nurses - many more nurses than midwives. They all wore the same flipping uniform, and I had to look at badges to check. But I'm one who cares and worries about using proper titles, so I'm not surprised most women are a bit confused.

So please, a little more patience with your exhausted, drugged up and sometimes traumatised patients who have trouble seeing straight, let alone telling one virtually identical uniform from another, might not go amiss.

Ditto the badges being in the crotch area or upside down. I'm often in hospital with an ongoing problem and see an array of people in various coloured uniforms and crotch badges.

Why would a nurse be on a labour/post natal ward?

I imagine they are there to do some of the non-midwifery nursing, so the midwives can get on with being midwives?

As for patients looking at badges or professionals not introducing themselves, when I was a junior doctor, I'd introduce myself as "Dr Bartlet, one of surgical/medical/heart etc doctors", take a detailed history, do a detailed examination, explain everything in great detail etc, then patients would still say, "Thank you, nurse."

I think there are things to get our knickers in a twist about - this really is not one of them!

We used to have an Enrolled nurse on our postnatal ward. She hadn't upgraded to an RGN so to be honest was a bit of a glorified HCSW. She was very good with breastfeeding support. She'd be given her own women to look after on a shift the same as a midwife but was only ever allowed postnatal women. Hospital management said she was never to be given antenatal women as no nurse had done enough training to recognise complications such as signs of pre-eclampsia, etc or to be able to interpret a CTG.

It's much like where I work I get called all kinds, despite a name badge and a uniform.'do you work here?'

Nah, I really didn't. GP, ultrasonographer, consultant, different consultant, different consultant, auxiliary staff, emergency health visitor. And the health visitor only came because I called and said no one had visited since I came home with DD and eight days after the birth my skin seemed to be growing over the staples.......honestly. No midwives. I did meet one but she wasn't caring for me at all.....

People seem to be getting very huffy about roles. Personally I don't care whether you're the cleaner or the Queen of Sheba, I just want good care!

I actually yelled at my husband for calling on of the midwives a nurse.

I said: 'She is not a nurse she is a midwife! They are highly trained and are helping your wife!'

She thanked me.

i,m a mental health nurse and yes it annoys me too that people assume we can do things that general nurses can do and if you say your a nurse at such and such hospital people say oh do you know dr blah blah works in orthopaedics well no because itsa huge hospital and i would never have any dealings with dr blah blah but the general public couldnt know this i think its the fault of holby city and casualty where everybody knows everybody and sems to have dealings with all departments in there hospital in the course of a day

I really don't think it's something to get bothered about.

I'm a lawyer and everyone assumes I must be defending criminals all day (I've never done a day's criminal practice in my life) or can give them a bit of freebie advice on their divorce (ditto for family law practice). I can't say it bothers me. People are often confused about professions they don't work closely with.