Midwife only wants to do straight-forward natural births?

[PinkNails1234]

I met a trainee midwife this weekend who told me that once she's qualified she doesn't want to work in hospitals or with doctors. Instead she intends to work in birth centres as she prefers' the straightforward, natural, non-intervention births'.

Is this a common attitude in midwifery? It came across like she felt a hospital birth was less valuable than straight-forward natural births.

AIBU to think that the women in hospital who may have risk factors or complicated labours with interventions are likely to need the skills and support of a good midwife more than those women who manage to pop them out naturally with minimal complications in the birth centre.

AIBU to think that this is like me saying I only want to do the easy, straightforward quick projects at work rather than the more complicated ones that really need my skill and effort if they are going to be successful?

Well her preference to work in a MLU is valid.

But if she thinks that means less stress or having less exposure to certain types of high pressure then that's a bit naive

I think that's not the case anat
Why do people think only the more critical areas to work are stressful and those places are the only places you have to be on the top of your game?
The most stressful / difficult areas to work in medicine aren't always linked to the more stressful difficult areas to work in in nursing.

No I think you misunderstand me hive

I'm saying that her desire to work in a mlu is understandable and her choice.
And that working in a mlu doesn't mean 'super easy birth every time.' It means low risk women coming in the door + the inherent unpredictability of birth. Which doesn't equal a low risk low drama outcome.

Whether the student midwife herself was meaning that or whether that's what the op assumed she meant I'm not sure. If the student midwife thinks she will never be exposed to a stressful birth in a mlu then she's wrong. If her preference is the environment of the mlu itself then no issue.

Agree that high stress areas are not necessarily all critical care, and not putting any value judgement on the relative stresses/worthiness of any specific role. Stress for me is a mix of responsibility plus ability to deal with it, which in turn is a mix of knowledge, resources and time. An understaffed low dependency environment can be much more stressful than a high dependency one staffed well. And stresses on different roles can be very different in the same speciality.

She doesn't sound like an idiot in the slightest.

I'm training to become a children's nurse but I don't want to work in A&E, I'd quite like to be a school nurse going on to HV.

I totally understand her wanting to work in a MLU, I expect all the MW that work there tend to prefer that.

The mother that chooses to have her baby in a MLU also wants a straight forward, home from home natural birth so at least everyone's on the same page.
Of course stuff can go wrong, and there are provisions in place for that. The mum would go to hospital. The hospital in which your friend has chosen not to work in.

I don't understand why people think this person is an idiot or all the other things that she was called.

There is a continuum of where midwifery skills are used most and I imagine a mlu (clue is in the name) is possibly the place where midwifery skills as distinct from obstetric nursing or operating department practitioner skills are used most.

Surely is not that different to a trainee doctor wanting to be a GP, work in A&E, train to be a brain surgeon or work in a lower risk ward?!?

I think the OP has assumed the student meant/thinks working in an MLU would ensure only straight forward births. No student midwife would think that. You spend three years learning and training, constantly exposed to the fact the unpredictable can happen to anyone. She will know this.