Experiences of student midwife

[partyskirt]

My midwife asked if I would be happy to have a student midwife on board for the pregnancy and also at the labour. I said no, but now feel bad. Has anyone agreed to this and had a positive experience?

I had a student midwife deliver DC1, completely unsupported, no other staff in the room. The maternity unit was obviously understaffed and completely chaotic. To be honest she just totally panicked and told me to keep on pushing without stopping because my baby needed to be born immediately. DC was fine, perfect Agpar score. I on the other hand, was very, very badly torn. The senior midwife was very tight lipped about it, when she eventually arrived.

I have had another three kids and now realise that birth should be far more controlled to avoid damage. Student midwife didn't have a clue, not a good situation for either of us.

We had a student sit in on the birth of our dd (well, up to the emcs!) I had said she could observe but not treat, but I think I would be more relaxed a second time. She was lovely, clearly knew her stuff, and I was glad to have her there.

I had a student during my labour. She was lovely. The slight issue was that as she was learning a few things took longer, I had to get on the bed on my back as she had trouble getting heartbeat when I was doing the weird hunched over thing I seemed to have decided was the best position to be in. But when I was rushed off for a ventouse in the end she was there to hold my hand and help me when I was getting the epidural as everyone else had to rush around and my DH was still getting into scrubs. Also I didn't give a damn who was what really, pretty sure there were a couple of student doctors in there as well. I really don't see how they learn without attending as many births as possible, so I didn't mind.

As someone who has been a medical student at births, I find it hard to see so many times on MN: "Doctors just want things to be medicalised" and "I would have midwifery students but not medical students." It is important that medical students get to see normal, uncomplicated deliveries so they can see how labour is the vast majority of the time. Thank you very much to anyone, like redling, who has had medical students there!

Ive had plenty of students of various kinds over the yrs (that sounds a bit rude), from guinea pig at gps for the newbies to have a go at the whole prodding and poking, student mws doing routine checks, student sonographers, student Drs with the twins, the list goes on. There wasn't ever a bad experience, the hardest were some of the newbie Drs who were ridiculously nervous and needed to work on their conversational skills. One nasty consultant asked if I minded a student coming in on my appointment because she was sick of seeing him standing around doing bugger all, poor thing wasn't his fault no-one would agree to students that day. If you're reading this nasty consultant woman, I'm coming after you, you mean incompetent arse.
Getting side tracked, I've never had a bad experience with a student, they are eager to learn and more often than not grateful you've said yes. I see it as giving a bit back for all the care I've had over the yrs.

One of the mws I had with my twins was bouncing when she was assigned to me as she was a newbie and was desperate to deliver twins, she was lovely.

I had a student at my second birth,she was absolutely brilliant.So enthusiastic and hadn't got any of the jadedness or clock watching attitudes of some of the more experienced midwives.In fairness they were almost all v good except for one in each birth and they were the ones who made you feel like you were spoiling their night by having a baby.The student was the best in my second birth though!

I am afraid to say I said no to medical students on my forms (sorry DinoSnores) but it had nothing to do with my perception of medics but that I knew a fair few of the ones on rotation at my hospital at the time and didn't want anyone I knew rocking up unexpectedly,I'll say yes this time though as I can't imagine I'd know many now.

I wouldn't have minded them being at the birth (although it may have scarred them for life!) But I refused to let them take my blood- always tricky for experienced staff and so wasn't exactly going to be a good easy patient to practice on!

I had no students on my notes, so it was a surprise to me to be stitched up after my emcs ( not a big panicky one, just the result of a series of fuck ups by Mw resulting in me needing a cs) by a student, with the surgeon telling them to how to stitch after a cs.

But seeing as the surgeon with all her years of experience had managed to cut my unborn babies eye area when opening me up, resulting in my ds needing stitches at birth, i hardly noticed at the time.

I don't like it when the doctor does rounds and they have a bunch of students trailing behind them. Especially if the doctor is all self important and doesn't even say good morning before doing what they do.

It was supposed to be the 'first live birth' for the student who I agreed to with dc3.

Unfortunately, she seemed to be having some trouble with her monitoring, was severely under confident, nothing she did was double checked by the supervising midwife, and dd2 was eventually born with fhr of 28bpm and brain damage due to hypoxia.

I'm less altruistic these days. Yes, they have to learn, but by god do they have to be supervised and their work checked.
The poor kid ended up cowering at the back of the room whilst the head mw shouted at her, the paeds were crashed, and everyone was trying to save dd2's life.

Our medical negligence claim is unlikely to come to anything. As the monitoring was so insufficient, there is no evidence to confirm when action should have been taken to prevent or lessen the brain damage. We don't know how long she had been starved of oxygen for. (Oh, also vbac, so should have been CFM)

I'm in favour of students, but please don't let your desire to further their knowledge override your right to qualified care. Let them in, but discuss how they will be supervised and actions checked, first.

I had students with DS1&2 (I couldn't have had an epidural otherwise as they stayed with me to monitor!)
Ended up with c-sections both times and of course in theatre there are many more people milling about so it didn't make any difference. All of them were lovely.

"I don't like it when the doctor does rounds and they have a bunch of students trailing behind them. Especially if the doctor is all self important and doesn't even say good morning before doing what they do."

^^ This 100%. I don't mind having a student present during a hospital stay (except for labour/birth/intimate exams) but I do hate when it's a bunch of them, and the doctor starts treating you like a case you have to solve/fix instead of a patient needing care. It's also difficult to say no when they're literally hovering over your bed and paying no attention to you but your notes.

I've only encountered 5 "not great" experiences that included students. I think I was just unlucky.

"I'm in favour of students, but please don't let your desire to further their knowledge override your right to qualified care."

^^ This too!

I think its mean to say no without good reason. They cant qualify without experience!

I was at a university hospital, had trainee midwives care throughout my 3 day labour and i was stitched by a trainee who i was told did a fabulous job, better than some qualified midwives. They are always supervised by a qualified midwife.

They will be keen and want to do a good job because they want to be a midwife!

I had a student mw in labour with ds. It was her who realised that ds was footling breech; got made scan machine and initiated the c section i needed.

Actual midwife had said "he must be stuck because he has out his hands on his head" .

It's not mean. There are obviously plenty of women who are allowing them to be present. To say so, is unfair.

Hey party skirt you could always accept now and decline later if you don't like her. That's your prerogative .

Please dont do that. If the midwife is saying 'all or nothing' then it is likely the student is doing a long case, following up a single woman throughout her care. Perhaps suggest to the midwife that you could meet the student at your next appointment and see how you feel. It may mean you get someone who knows you well all the way through to delivery and gives some continuity of care.

I must say that I loved the student I had. She was wonderful. She even came to see me after I had DS. I was so off my head though, I kept asking her if I'd told her she looked like Lily Allen. I had. About 500 times:)

My DS was delivered by a student midwife in May! She was great! I had seen her during a couple of my ante natal appointments too. I had no qualms about a student being there - there is such a shortage of midwives and they need to learn somehow! Also, allowing a student in also means that you have 2 midwives for the price of 1

I went to an assessment session for student doctors (our hospital is an educational centre)

The student didn't ask about meds I was on, said that my breech baby was 'head down and engaged' and tried for 30 seconds to find a heartbeat with the old fashioned doppler thingy before announcing she couldn't find it and putting it away!

She passed! [Faints]

I had a student midwife at my birth. It wasn't planned before but when I was in the middle of labour and arrived on the ward I think I would have said yes to anything they asked!
She was really wonderful and it was great having her there. She supported me far better then my DH who was scared of saying the wrong thing or upsetting me bless him and she did a couple of the examinations which were fine. I can't remember if she actually delivered dd it's a bit of a g&a fog but I'm pretty sure she delivered the head. She was a third year student so knew what she was doing but the mw was still standing right next to her the whole time and would have taken over if needed. I was really pleased she was there! And afterwards when I had stiches (epistomy not tear) she was holding my hand so DH could bond with dd while the mw did the stiches.
I would definitely let a student in the labour room again. Funny thing is I'm not sure if I would want them at appointments because then you're aware of what's going on, in labour it was a bit of a fog!

First time was my first water birth, she was hands off and it was lovely having extra support. Second time I had a student was my second pregnancy at the community midwife checks. I was one of her first people she had seen and she was lovely, and my normal midwife gave greater details on information that the student missed.
I got admitted to hospital 2nd pregnancy a few times and the students on the ward were phenomenal, they spent a lot of time with me, and spent a lot of time reassuring me.
When I gave birth that 2nd pregnancy a student delivered the baby, she didn't listen to the other midwife and caused me to tear worse than I would have otherwise. I think she panicked. She spent most of her time chatting and filling forms too. She was nice but I wouldn't want her again as my midwife. But I would still have a different student again as most are amazing.

I had an amazing student midwife ! She was a mum herself and so engaging and lovely. If she hadn't told me she was a student I wouldn't have known, she was never unsupervised. Give it a go say I the more midwifery care the better I think!

I also think my dds arrival helped to bring another desperately needed midwife to qualification.

It has never occurred to me to say no to a student. How else are they going to learn? I also try & give feedback to someone to say what I liked about them & what they need to work on. I don't do this in front of the student but to someone else on the team layer on, e.g. GP receptionist or another MW.
For those whose reason is that they don't want it to be a circus, when I was wheeled into theatre for an EMCS there were the "standard" 10 people &, when the crash button was pressed as DD wasn't breathing, another 8 raced in although a couple left when they realised others had answered the call. I was grateful that they had all had the chance to learn.
Having said that, all of the students who have examined me etc have all been closely supervised meaning, for example, that when a student MW checked how many cm I was a qualified MW did the same thing immediately afterwards.
One of my friends is a twin who was born in the mid 70s. Twin pregnancies were rarer then. Her mother was wheeled down to the lecture theatre to give birth &, apparently, all she can really remember is hearing a student at the back ask the medical team to speak up a bit!