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AIBU?

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Original poster

Do you care what colour hair your midwife has?

223 replies

Purplekaz08 · 20/12/2018 15:39

I have seen on the news that a midwife is Lincoln has been told not to go to work and may lose her job because her hair is dyed red? AIBU to think this trust is out of touch with the modern world? I really would not care if a midwife or nurse had rainbow coloured hair as long as they were kind and competent?

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Celebelly · 20/12/2018 15:54

Also for the not professional comments, I prefer to judge on actions as to what's professional or not. As we see often on here, there are (thankfully) a small minority of midwives and HCPs in general whose behaviour and actions and treatment of women is not professional. That's what I care about. You can look like you've come straight out of an NHS pamphlet from the 70s but be the least professional person around in the way you behave and conduct yourself.

Also yes to comb-overs. Far more heinous than coloured hair and/or tattoos! Grin

stegosauruslady · 20/12/2018 15:54

My midwife has green hair.

I loveses her, she is brilliant, she is super knowledgeable and down to earth and I don't give a teeny tiny fuck what colour her hair is.

KatnissMellark · 20/12/2018 15:55

I literally couldn't care if my midwife had plaited her pubic hair up on top of her head as long as she was doing her job properly and was clean and hygienic Confused

Reallybadidea · 20/12/2018 15:55

Patsy's hair didn't seem to cause any problems with her midwifery abilities in CTM Grin

I'm guessing obviously, but we only have this particular individual's version of events here. With staffing levels the way they are I would honestly be surprised if it was just her hair that was the issue here.

CheeseCakeSunflowers · 20/12/2018 15:56

Could it be something to do with the chemicals used to dye the hair and associated health issues. I work on a supermarket deli counter and we have rules like this as we are working in an open food area.

Nativityriot · 20/12/2018 15:57

Super duper anaesthetist at birth had hair bleached and dyed a lovely duck egg blue, i lay and quietly admired it (but didn’t even mention it as personal to her and none of my business!)

harrypotterfan1604 · 20/12/2018 15:57

I find it much more offensive when nhs staff go out for fag breaks in uniform and come back stinking of smoke on their clothes and their breath, couldn’t give a shit what colour hair anyone has as long as it’s clean!

Imissgmichael · 20/12/2018 15:57

Patients who argue someone is unprofessional because of their hair colour, tattoos etcetera should not be pandered too.

DraculaAD1972 · 20/12/2018 15:57

Ridiculous when they are so short of midwives. The midwife who did my community care had tattoos up both her arms. She was brilliant at her job.

pigsDOfly · 20/12/2018 15:59

Agree with Celebelly, professional is as professional does.

I wouldn't have cared if my midwife had stripey hair and was covered in tattoos as long as she was kind, caring and knew her stuff. Although, given that my DCs were all born in the 1980 the likelihood of any sort of extreme look would have been very remote.

LoubyLou1234 · 20/12/2018 15:59

Our trust is strict on hair colour... part of uniform policy. But it seems fine to have tattoos on show. How either can affect your ability to nurse/care etc is ridiculous.

MarklahMarklah · 20/12/2018 16:00

Nope, couldn't care less. To be honest I would feel more comfortable with someone with crazy hair, tats and piercings. However, as long as the person is reassuring, helpful and competent, none of that matters.

Alwaysatyke · 20/12/2018 16:01

Whether you like the hair colour or not, it's against the trust's uniform policy. I work in a different trust and it'd be against ours too, and I imagine most other hospital trusts are the same. By all means you can disagree with the policy and fight to have it changed if you so wish, but there's no defence against her having been reprimanded when she knows she's broken her employer's rule.

BeanTownNancy · 20/12/2018 16:02

My midwife has short red hair. She is very well respected and has been a midwife for over 40 years which I would say counts as "experienced". She is professional to a fault, and always always there for me, through both of my pregnancies. I don't give a crap if she dyes her hair leopard print, she will still be my first choice every time.

opinionatedfreak · 20/12/2018 16:02

Hair colour is part of our dress code.

BUT Mine is currently holographic with blue/purple and pink highlights on a silver base. Management team unfazed. I'm a doctor.

One of the ward nurses has baby pink hair.

I'm glad my professional qualifications & skills are respected overmy hair colour.

User10fuckingmillion · 20/12/2018 16:06

Those who are saying it looks/is unprofessional-this is your problem.

Celebelly · 20/12/2018 16:09

Christ knows midwives, nurses and doctors get paid a bloody pittance as it is for the work they do too – doesn't feel right to begrudge them having the hair colour they want as well as expecting them to work difficult and long hours in sometimes quite awful conditions for nowhere near the amount of money they're worth.

Namechangeforthiscancershit · 20/12/2018 16:09

opjnionated you can get holographic hair effects? Tell me more this sounds AMAZING

Sausagefingers9 · 20/12/2018 16:11

I agree it doesn’t look professional. Personally I really wouldn’t care as long as I felt well cared for and she can keep me and my baby safe.

Mesmeri · 20/12/2018 16:13

Um, how bizarre. Makes me think of my MiL, who is a judge (one of the highest ranking and most respected in her country). She's always impeccably turned out and has had dyed red hair for years. Don't think anyone has ever had a problem with it.

Onceihadaname · 20/12/2018 16:13

The only thing that is not professional is making personal assumptions about a person's ability to perform their work based on the colour of their hair.
I get that working on a geriatric ward may cause problems with patients (yes mother, I mean narrow minded bigots like you) but if you are young enough to push a human out of your fanny then you really should know better.

Crunchymum · 20/12/2018 16:13

I'm assuming it's against the NHS dress code?

So maybe it's the code itself that needs to be reviewed?

ladymalfoy · 20/12/2018 16:15

@knittedjest. You are quite right about Spock. Oh yes.

Binglebong · 20/12/2018 16:16

It wasn't against the dress code. The trust was doing badly (special measures I think but could be wrong) and they decided that rather than concentrate on patient care and shorter waiting lists they would change their dress code . So a midwife who has had coloured hair for years with no problem suddenly falls foul of the new rules.

This isn't someone new to the job who is getting cross that they can't do what they want. This is a dedicated professional who has been told that she can no longer do her job unless she changes the way she has for years appeared.

JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 20/12/2018 16:17

Nope.

My super homebirth MW who also went out of her way to help me when I was struggling mentally during my twin pg and kept me on her caseload even though I was down for a hosp birth.... she had pink and purple highlights.

She is also the calmest and most sensible woman I have ever met. I don't trust lots of hcp but I'd follow her into battle. She has 20 years' experience and is dedicated and compassionate.

Good enough for me.