'Routine Midwifery Care Why Not Here'

This essay demonstrates significant factors, a midwife and the women may face within Australian public hospitals. As a midwife the key skills are understanding of what supports and impacts the normal physiological process of labour and birth. This essay will discuss two influencing factors that have a negative effect on the normal progress of labour and birth. This will be seen, firstly by discussing the cultural and environmental impacts of labour and birth. Then, examining how the midwife may best support and facilitate the adverse effects of normal physiological process. This essay also discusses a positive labour and birth environment within the Australian standard model of care.

Whilst I am aware that midwives can at times encounter bereavement, I believe it would be a real honour to experience life entering the world and support women throughout their pregnancy, birth and postnatal care. I trust that the skills that I have gained are valuable in both professions because they ultimately have the same empathy and values – being there for someone who needs care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment. I have had the opportunity to speak with both a student midwife and a qualified midwife. They have prepared me for some of the testing situations I may encounter and where specialist roles come into play. I am particularly interested in twins and multiple births and would like to pursue this further.

MD Marden Wagner said, “In every country where I have seen real progress in maternity care, it was woman’s groups working together with midwives that made the difference.” The Marriam Webster dictionary defines midwifery as “The art or act of assisting at childbirth”. The definition is a spot-on explanation. Midwifery is not very broad; it’s pinpointed as a specific job with detailed instructions that only deal with pregnancies. Many will argue to say that midwives only work with women who are having “normal-pregnancies”.(Goer, 2002). Normal pregnancies include a healthy mother and fetus, with no complications. “Approximately 10% - 30% of pregnant women will experience Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) during their pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy happens in 1 out of 60 pregnancies. About 1% of all pregnant women will experience placental abruption, and most can be successfully treated depending on what type of separation occurs.” (Pregnancy Complications). Everyone is different, they handle pain in different ways, they have diverse fingerprints, they all have their own unique genetic material; evidently all pregnant women will experience each pregnancy they have differently from themselves and from other women. Many people will argue about the authenticity of a Certified Nurse Midwife’s education however, in reality “Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM) are registered nurses, with a minimum of a

In America, midwives attend less than 8% of all births and less than 1% of those occur outside a hospital. At the same time, the US

There are big differences between Lay Midwives and Certified Nurse Midwives. Lay midwives have no formal medical or nursing training.  They learn from attending other births.  I have seen placental abruptions, cord prolapses, and several cervical lacerations from lay midwives. The Amish in our area currently have a 15 year old apprentice. On the other hand, Certified Nurse Midwives complete an extensive nursing education culminating in a graduate degree and can practice legally in all 50 states. (Santa Cruz, 2015) The two should not be compared. As of 2013, 9% of US births were attended by midwives. (Santa Cruz,

Public health is defined by the World Health Organisation as ‘all organised measures to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life among the population as a whole’ (WHO, 2015). Within this role of public health, the midwife has an essential role. They are in the best position to be able to guide

The ANMC states that midwives should promote safe and effective practice. This competency standard involves: Applying knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable woman centred care, provide or support midwifery continuity of care and manage the midwifery care of women and their babies. Midwives providing continuity of care are able to provide safe and effective practice. They know there patients well from the woman’s blood test results to the woman’s birth plan. The midwife can provide safe and effective practice because she knows the woman best. Midwifery Continuity of care is associated with a reduction in the rate of a number of interventions, without compromising safety of care (Spiby &

I strongly believe in and support the mutual partnership that is established between Midwives, Wahine and their Whanau. It is an honour to be a part of women and their families journey to welcoming a new family member and I cherish the opportunity to be able to do this with them. Whilst pregnancy and childbirth is a normal, natural process of life, for some this can be complicated and I feel it is my responsibility to be able to walk with low risk and high risk women, injecting as much of my midwifery philosophy as I can into what might be a complex medical picture. By keeping practice hollistic and woman-centred this can be achieved. All women are entitled to make fully informed decisions and granted the time to do this. I am pro-choice and

Next, a non-hospital birth usually has midwifery or Doula. Midwifery is a profession in which providers take care of pregnant women during her labor and birth and during the postpartum period. Assisting the mother with the child after it is born. According to “Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America,” midwives attends the majority of births. Midwives are qualified for routine deliveries and minor medical emergencies; often operating as part of a medical term. As Cara Muhlhahn, a certified nurse midwife stated in “Business of Being Born,” she would rather be in the home of the patient so she would feel comfortable. And most women who have midwives are comfortable because they are in the privacy of their own home giving birth to their child and they feel empowered instead of the powerless vibe in a hospital. A Doula, on the other hand, does not have to make clinical decisions. Doulas offer emotional support and manage pain using massage, acupressure, and birthing positions; making it easier for the mother to cope with her complications. According to “Mothering the Mother: How a Doula Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier and Healthier Birth,” a Doula is a Greek word that literally means a woman who has experience that can help other women. Klaus Kennell and others who have researched the effects of the doula's presence during childbirth have come to define the term as a woman with experience in childbirth who will give the laboring mother emotional, physical and

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.

The birth place study (2011) suggests, that whether or not a woman gets her desired water birth can depend on where she has chosen to given birth. Water birth statistics for achieving water are as follows. 13% of prim gravidas’ who chose an obstetric unit, 39% for those who opted for an adjoined birth centre to an obstetric unit, freestanding birth centre achieved 54% and the home birth figure was 50%. Multigravida women have even less success in achieving the water birth they sought 7% for obstetric unit, 23% for an adjoined birth centre to an obstetric unit , 41% freestanding birth centre and 28% at home (Birthplace study, 2011). Gould (2007) suggests that midwives are less likely to offer a pool birth on the medicalised labour ward

Being a midwife refers to a profession where the midwife would work in partnership with the women throughout her pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period. Not only is being a midwife women-centred, however, their role also includes ensuring the partner and family members are prepared and aware of the process. Within a women’s health, the midwife should focus on health, family planning, nutrition, domestic and other health issues as the main priority is the

On the other hand, during my winter break, I spent enormous amount of time with my cousin’s friend who attend different university around the states. We were viewing, studying abroad opportunities in Europe and we came across study abroad as a “Midwife.” I thought I knew the meaning of a Midwife, but I guess there was a different meaning when I watched the YouTube. I was thrilled, yet terrified to view the process of a mother giving birth at home and sometimes with a Midwife, to assist the process.

The topic of Home Birth is one that is constantly being debated, researched and talked about. Here I will discuss several aspects of this topic to be thought over for what they are: facts. A home birth is simply giving birth to a child at home rather than in a hospital. There are many benefits when choosing home birth as well as negative consequences. When having a child, many aspects must be acknowledged and well thought over. These include the cost, the location, whether a midwife is necessary or not among other concerns. A midwife is “a person trained to assist women in childbirth.” (Dictionary.com). This knowledge is important in understanding the differences between hospital and home birth as midwives may be present in either situation.

Patience is often a skill that has be learned and developed over time, yet it made already be a quality individuals possess. This is an important skill for midwives to acquire as the process of labour can be very long for example for first time mothers according to https://www.nct.org.uk/birth/first-stage-labour labour can last from around 6-20 hours. So, a midwife has to be patient with the mother for her sudden reactions and changes of mind through both labour and the birthing process. There is no place for judgement in midwifery; this is as giving birth is a painful process and women can experience a wide range of pain in labour as have an equally wide range of responses to it according to https://www.rcm.org.uk/sites/default/files/Supporting%20Women%20in%20Labour_1.pdf