Personal Narrative: Pregnancy, Childbirth And Maternal Bonds

When I first encountered midwifery in England, during my own pregnancy through kind and compassionate midwives who empowered me, I instantly knew that it was a career I wanted to pursue. I am currently in my final year of a BSc Midwifery 3 year’s degree course at Middlesex University London. I am completing my clinical placement at the Royal Free Hospital, which is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.

I did not realize that giving birth was so costly until now, I gave birth with a C-section and I was not charged for anything and I had a different insurance. Normally in New York, when you go to your first visit to the hospital and you don't have insurance they make you apply for one and it cover all the costs depending on the insurance. I stayed in the hospital five days and receive a lot of care from the

When I was young I did not know where babies came from, just like the rest of us. I use to believe everything my parents told me about babies for example that they came from storks or that you bought them at a baby store. It wasn’t until I was about 12 or 13 when I found out the truth on the biggest mystery I had, the truth about where babies really came from.

Supporting, guiding and empowering women throughout their entire pregnancy, from the months leading up to the birth, labour itself and the postnatal period fascinates me. It is rare in other medical careers to form such strong connections over a large span of time, with not only the patient but also their partners and families. I have always been viewed as hardworking and dedicated, with the ability to work autonomously and in a group, something that is essential for midwives. My positive attitude to learning has been rewarded with leadership roles of house captain and school prefect. Currently I am completing an A level in Biology and studying Health and Social Care at AS level, both of which have been chosen specifically with Midwifery as a future focus. My A-level studies in Spanish, English and

During my two pregnancies, BabyCenter L.L.C. has been a frequently surfed guide for my children's developmental milestones. Referring to the site and zealously studying the information served as a litmus test for personal successes of parenting, in addition to my index of "expertise" for engaging in educating conversations with my pediatrician. Currently, my younger son is six-years-old. As a first grader, his teacher requires him to know his age and birth date. However, a favorable assessment considers more than the month and day; he must have knowledge of his birth year also. Therefore, my son's inability to communicate those details would alarm his teacher that he has not reached a crucial milestone in his development. Correspondingly, I

I first became fascinated about midwifery when I read an inspiring article based on pregnant asylum seekers. This has opened my mind about the support that each person needs regardless of their struggles. I consider myself as an advocate for women during their pregnancy. I am a person who regularly gives to charity by using my spare time and skills to support young children in the community. This has helped me to develop my communication skills when working with diverse children. The reason I chose midwifery is to empower women and to assist them with their choices that they make. As a liberal feminist, I have a great trust and confidence to connect with women from their own perspective.

It was 3 years ago when I was diagnosed with Pectus Excavatum, a condition in which the breastbone sinks into the chest. 1 in every 400 births have it. My condition over the years began to get worse, reducing my ability to participate in sports. The feeling of being exhausted everyday started to hit me as time passed. After finally being diagnosed, my mom took the initiative to schedule my surgery date on June 8,2015. I had asked myself “What if something goes wrong?”, over and over creating this emotion of vulnerability inside me. This feeling that I had never fallen victim to, brought me to a time of reflection. Reflection on the life that I had lived up to that point. The question "What if I don't make it out of this? Is not a common question for someone my age, at least I don't know anyone who has had to ask this of themselves.

I realized that midwifery training and being a mom to little ones is very difficult. There was no way I would be able to be on call all of the time with my own tiny breastfeeding babies. So, my dream of becoming a midwife got put on hold. I really wanted to find a way to grow and learn and stay involved in the birth world. This led me full circle to finally discovering how I could combine my love of teaching with my love of pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. I enrolled in a Childbirth Educator course through Childbirth International and completed my certification. Along the way, I also discovered my love of breastfeeding. I had been learning so much through my studies but had now discovered it as a breastfeeding mom. Breastfeeding became a complete passion. I began helping other mothers in my community and then decided to enroll in a Breastfeeding Counselor program through Childbirth International as

I often hear people complaining about how hard it is to raise one child, consider having to raise twins. I would argue that twins are harder to deal with, especially fraternal twins. Now I would be the first to say that when I found out we were pregnant with twins, I was terribly overwhelmed with different emotions; I was shocked, overjoyed, and distraught at the same time. “You may start asking yourself questions like: How am I going to do this?, Who is going to help me?, How are going to be able to afford this.” (Diaz, 2013) These are all questions I asked myself repeatedly throughout the leading up to the day they were born. We had other questions. The number one question; “How can we possibly care for two babies at the same

Nurse midwifery requires a lot of time and academic effort but it will soon be worth it in the long

Some things I don't like about a midwife’s career is that you do have to keep up with the mother 24/7, but it’s to protect her and the baby from anything wrong; it takes too long to become one, but I can also just become an RN and go to midwifery school. I also would have to deal with instant pregnancies, but it’s worth it because I would be doing my

My fascination with midwifery began when I was asked to be a birth partner. It was an amazing experience and for the first time, I really thought about how important the role of a midwife is. Being instrumental in preparing women for motherhood by offering care and support throughout their pregnancies, births and the postnatal period would be an extremely rewarding career, and the diversity that the role brings is of particular interest to me. I have since had three children of my own and at each of their births, I was inspired by the midwives who looked after me and realise that I too would love to be able to support women and their families at such an important time in their lives. Now that I have had my children, I feel it is time to focus on my goals and establish a successful career in midwifery.

Midwifery is a role that hugely appeals to me as it isn’t just clinical skills that are offered to the women, it allows for a relationship to form with them and their families. This is important to me because it would allow the women to feel completely comfortable in a stressful but life changing event. I have always wanted to be take up a caring, supportive and helpful career and as soon as I did some research into the role of a midwife I was immediately hooked and knew it was the right path for me to follow.

My state of residency since I moved to the United States has been North Carolina. The state has not only been listed as the best place to raise a family, but the community sense transforms the environment into one of security. It is have been this way since I moved, yet since a few years back things have slowly started changing. Not only the uprisings in Charlotte are endangering the community but the laws passed by the state government against the LGBT community have compromised the environment that once was praised by the rest of the states and the world.

Midwifery is commonly misunderstood as the practice of just delivering babies, when in fact that isn’t the case. I have learnt through constant research and talking to actual qualified experienced midwives that it is far more than just childbirth, it’s also giving support and empowering women at the time in which they are at their most vulnerable point in life. Due to this understanding my interest in midwifery has enhanced even more, I know this would be a career path in which the caring and nurturing side of my personality would be able to blossom. The roles of a midwife vary as it is a very multi-tasked career, they are needed to first and foremost support their patient in all their decisions as well as being able to advise the best thing for their patients antenatal care. A midwife is expected to make sure all patients feel safe and respected by being attentive and responsible.