Students denied access to labour room

[hunkermunker]

Might be a problem in the future, don't you think?

When I went into labour with my ds I was asked if a male student doctor could assist the midwife with the birth and was told he had already delivered some babies and he needed just one more to finish his rotation on maternity, and I obliged. He was very considerate and thanked me and my dh afterwards for letting him have the honour of delivering our gorgeous ds.

I also often had students in attendence during my fertility treatments especially when having the scans for follicle tracking and that's very undignified (internal scans) but if you don't let them watch and ask questions they will never learn. All of the students I have been in contact with have always been very considerate and grateful for the experience.

i had a LOVELY student midwife with me while i was in labour... she was really nice.
for the birth i also had 2 medical students, one of whom wanted to see a ventouse delivery. add those to DP, midwife, paediatrician, doctor and anaesthetist and you can imagine it was pretty crowded!

I had a male student midwife present. He was just finishing his training prior to goint to work in Africa. I was a good case for him as ds was a footling breach. I tried to get one of the other students along, but she was in collage that day and was gutted.

I was a training case for lots of student doctors and MW, as ds was a footling breach and I had previously had a strange condtion of the uterus called Asgermans syndrome. I got the 'lecture' on it down to 5 minutes and the consultant would send them all over to me!

I think it's great to have students in the labour room. How else will they learn? I even allowed a student midwife to deliver ds2 and she was absolutely fabulous, along with the trained midwife, they got me through the labour without pain relief (oh and dh )

Also had a student in with me for ds3 (6 months) although it was her first time so she didn't deliver. Actually felt quite nice to have allowed someone to have thier first delivery experience. Didn't have a student the first time as my baby was stillborn and it was a very private time. I realise that students need to experience this also, but I think this totally different. With ds1 I also didn't have a student as he was born 13 months after my first baby and was premature so we were really worried.

I say, let the students in. If they make you feel uncomfortable you can always request they leave.

the tihng is... what's the difference between having a student there and having a qualified doctor/midwife...?

aside from not wanting HOARDS of them in there, what would reasons be for not wanting someone there?

of all the midwives i saw during my labour (was about 32 hours so i had about 4 of changes of shifts on the labour ward) the most supportive person i had with me, apart from dh, was a student midwife. i felt she actually really cared.

A student midwife helped me to give birth to my first child and was fantastically supportive.

However, she then stitched me up (I was her first) and it went horribly wrong. She wasn't supervised for about half the time and the MW showed her the first stitch then went off next door to do the same for the woman in there. The result was she did the 'wrong' kind of external stitches - but I had been in stirrups being stitched up for an hour and a half so the MW didn't correct it & said "she should be OK" (do they think you go deaf in the labour room???).

Upshot - I wasn't OK, my stitches broke open, got infected and 6 months later I was seeing a consultant about my extensive scarring and being told a future vaginal birth may be out of the question. The stitches may have broken open anyway, but I would never let anyone train on me again.

Don't know the solution, maybe constant supervision should be compulsory.

(p.s. I have gone on to have to Vaginal Births since so it turned out Ok in the end)

I had 2 student docs present, but one was my best mate, who was in her 1st year at med school at the time! the other lady doc, was on a 1 week rotation thru the delivery suite!!!

I put on my birth plan that I wanted prior warning of everyone coming in to the labour room. Pah! When I was almost ready to push, and without any warning, the door flew open, and there was a consultant with a team 5? 6? of junior doctors who paraded around my bed clutching clipboards. I will never forget their detached expressions. Suddenly, I felt exactly like a farrowing pig.
At which point, I lost it and told them all to bog off.
Wouldn't have minded if my permission had been sought. Still, five or six strangers, plus horrid superior consultant, was a bit much.

i said no students - so they looked through the window as they had to "observe" so many mulitple births. i felt degraded like an animal in the zoo

So yet another thing toblame pregnant women for. Now it's our fault there are no doctors - therefore our fault we get such poor treatment.

Could some womens uncomfortableness with students not be down to the way they are introduced (or not) and supervised (or not).NO - course not -it's because all middle class women insist on seeing a consultant rather than a student - shame on us.

FWIW - in the course of my 2 pregnancies I was seen by loads students during my visists to the MFAU and used as a teaching case. All were lovely. But I think a lot of that was down to the amazing midwife who supervised them and treated me as an interesting patient rather than just an interesting case.

I don't have a problem w/students, but I also put it in my birthplan that I only wanted a max of 2. They were with me the entire time, and got to observe an epidural and forceps delivery.

I also had a male student nurse at my antenatal appointments and was more than happy to let the midwife show him how to locate the baby's heartbeat by Doppler and palpate the baby.

They have to learn somehow! I'd rather have it be in a controlled setting with good supervision.

No thank you very much to students.

1. I'm giving birth. I wanna be alone except for people I know. I'm sorry I can't help what happens to random strangers training.

2. I'm tired of propping up the NHS by giving up my wishes and hopes all the time with this PG. It's childish but there is so much the NHS is is not doing for me that they can take a flying jump this time round on this one tiny piece of power I've got left!

3. I have a retroverted cervix and I was once bullied into having a succession of 6 people march up there and fiddle with it until they won their 'fit a contraceptive cap on the freak' badge. My duty is done this decade.

Thank you and good night, says the stroppy lady.

i have absolutely no problem with students. though i do like to be asked if they can be present, etc. male or female, i dont think it would be a problem. unless it was someone i knew that is they haave to train somewhere doont they?

expat and others, I think it's a great idea to put in a birthplan that you are happy to have students there and under what circs. I wd deffo take that on board if I do it again.

i don;t think that allowing students in is "propping up" the NHS.

How do you think your midwife trained? if everyone said no to students then we'd have no more new midwives.

how is a student any different to a trained midwife as far as being in the room goes? (i'm not talking differences in being trained)

i am fully aware that it is your own choice, and that it is nice to be asked... but i honestly can't see the problem at one extra person being there... you're helping them train, and helping them become a midwife who can then help others! the student you turn down may qualify the next week.... then you'd let her see you?

The male trainee doctor stay with me from 6AM-4PM - from the time the anesthetist came in to do the epidural to delivery. He was very considerate and concerned about my pain relief and encouraging.

When the consultant had to be called, he asked ME first if he could stay in the room. He and DH stayed at my head. Although I told him when the OB got ready to do the episiotomy to please take advantage of the opportunity to see how it's done. He was very grateful and even came by my room a few times to thank me and let me know he was the ONLY trainee in his group who got to see a forceps delivery.

Merryberry, do you know everybody who will be present at your birth? if you do!

I agree with starlover.

But then again I honestly was in a complete world of my own when I was giving birth and I don't think it would have bothered me if the inner cabinet were in there taking notes!

Of course:-) HM thanks for asking, I'm in London and you probably know the legends of lack of continuity of care here...

I know DP and I figure I stand a 4/19 chance of seeing a midwife face I recognise! I would love to know them better, more than anything. Poor overworked souls.

Ah well, what will be will be. I just wish I didn't know so much about the NHS and London hospitals. And hadn't been a dire cack-handed student myself. Anyone who was foisted with me in the past: I apologise.

I would like to reiterate - great if they are under close supervision...but we know that wouldn't happen. There aren't enough midwives around for 1:1 care so will they suddenly materialise to supervise the trainee? No, and so the trainee is wondering from room to room with the midwife and you don't get to know either of them. Great.

merryberry (and others) there's a new campaign taking shape at the moment to improve maternity services - the "One Mother, One Midwife" Campaign. You can find out more at Midwife Campaign Yahoogroup .

Oh god Starrynight - it wasn't me HONEST!

i was left with the student midwife while the midwife was seing to other women.
she was nice... she explained everything to me. she made sure i was monitored every so often, and chased up the midwife when she had been gone a while.

if i hadn't had her i would have been alone (aside from dp)... it was nice to have someone to talk to, who told me what was going on, and who was obviously getting excited about delivering my baby!

I believe you Merry