Explain Why I Want To Be A Midwife

In 1946 the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. This definition integrates the main concepts of health and identifies that health can be viewed differently by individuals and groups (Bowden, 2006). Health and well-being are the result of a combination of physical, social, intellectual and emotional factors (Dunkley, 2000a).

Being a midwife does not only defined by assisting women in childbirth. The general dictionary definition are the misconception of how people view midwives. Being a midwife means to be ‘with women’ and this leads the construction of the midwifery philosophy, Page (2006) 5 steps and Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) competency standards, in order to provide the best women centred care (Australia Collage of Midwives, 2017). This essay will cover a constructive overview of what Page (2006) 5 steps of being a midwife means, it will also defined what women centred care is and emphasis on the importance it has for the woman. Understanding Page (2006) 5 steps and women centred care helped build the pathway for midwifery philosophy to correlate with NMBA competency standard in order to support midwifery practice. For

I am pleased to state that I have been a registered nurse for forty years. At this moment, I continue working in nursing while pursuing my Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. My intended month of completion is October 2012. My experience in nursing education has motivated me to continue my education and pursue a Masters degree in a nursing related field commencing in 2013. Thus, in terms of my career planning, my education is a crucial part to my professional development. Extending and deepening one's education, especially within the career field of one's choice, can only bring upon additional professional opportunities as well as opportunities for personal growth. My career planning includes building upon my decades of experience in obstetrics, my particular area of specialty, expertise, and passion, with the assistance and addition of higher education. I believe in terms of career planning, my strengths include foresight, preparation, internal motivation, and focus.

The Australian College of Midwives believes that it is the right of every pregnant woman to have access to continuity of care by a known midwife for her pregnancy, labour and early postnatal period. Midwives are the most appropriate primary care providers for healthy mothers and newborn babies and are able to refer to specialist medical care if the need arises (Hicks, Spurgeon & Barwell, 2003). Midwives must work within the competency standards enforced by The ANMC Australian Nursing & Midwifery Council (2006) in order to obtain and practice as a registered midwife in Australia. Competency 4 states Midwives should “promote safe and effective practice” (ANMC, 2006), this is achievable by providing Midwifery continuity of care to women and

I believe as a Midwifery Student at Australian Catholic University (ACU) that childbirth is a natural life process. Within my philosophy, my aim is to provide a women-centred care based on evidence- based practice. Also the importance of supporting women with cultural variation, social circumstance and understanding other specific needs throughout the woman’s pregnancy. The women-centred care is an essential quality to a midwife as it ensure that the women is educated in healthy lifestyle choices within pregnancy, childbirth and during parenthood. This relationship of “women-centred care” is the key to midwifery practices as Australian College of Midwives (2009) refers to the philosophy of maternity care that promotes a holistic approach by recognising each women’s social, emotional, physical, spiritual and cultural needs. In retrospect, it is important to reflect on your past experiences during your midwifery practice but also your life beyond midwifery.

I am passionate of becoming a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. I got inspired to work in this field when I interned at hospitals such as the Veterans and at Community Regional Center in the children's clinic. I have always worked with children and like being part of their lives. Ever since I volunteered at Storey Elementary After school Program with kids on their homework, it assured me that working with children is what makes me happy. I want to impacts others lives positively. I am serious about my career path and I take every advantage to learn more about it. This was one of the reasons why I had taken part of the UCSF Doctors Academy program, because I wanted to learn more about the health profession and be exposed to it. Being part of the

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) published the expected standards for pre-registration midwifery education. They stated that Student Midwives are required to assist in the care and support of several women throughout their antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum period. This is achieved via the caseload holding scheme (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2009). Midwifery led continuity of care models are described as care given during the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal period from a known and trusted midwife in order to empower a woman to have a healthy pregnancy and birth (Sandall, Soltani and Gates, 2016). In September 2005 research was published supporting midwifery-led continuity of care, which they found was linked to a number of benefits for both mothers and babies, in contrast with obstetrically led and shared care (The Royal College of Midwives, 2014).

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.

first watched, "The Business of Being Born" when it came out in 2008.  It was prior to having children and I had just accepted my position as a Nurse Manager the year prior in Obstetrics in a Rural, Level 1 Facility.  (Being Level 1 in Obstetrics means that we only care for low risk mothers and babies that are at least 35 weeks gestation.)  I find it very interesting how my perspective has changed in the 9 years since its release.  Although I am still pro, low-intervention birth, I feel like the enthusiasm I once had for natural birth with limited intervention has been hijacked by an increase in anxiety d/t the fear of medical liability.  A couple of bad home-birth outcomes can do that to you.  On the flip side, and to be fair, we don’t see all of the perfectly healthy and safe home-birth deliveries; because if everything went well, there would be no need to come to the hospital.

Laurel Ulrich’s A Midwife’s Tale is the personal history of a typical New England woman, living and accommodating to the impending changes brought on by the creation of the American Republic. Martha Ballard’s story is then used by Ulrich to portray a larger history of the time period. By a comprehensive look into the diary of Martha Ballard, which contains over 9,000 entries written in daily by Martha over a twenty-seven year period, Laurel Ulrich is able to shed light on the day-to-day responsibilities of women, daughters, midwife’s, and families that all lived together in the years following America’s war for independence. The three decades covered in her diary entries were years of transformation for American society on many levels, such as medicine, religion, and family life.

As of 2013, around 353,000 babies were born in one day, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Be Fruitful and Multiply). Delivering babies is very difficult and strenuous, luckily labor and delivery nurses are trained to help care for the mother during the process of welcoming her newborn into the world safely. Labor and delivery nurses play a very crucial role in helping the delivery of babies and bringing safety and peace to the mother. I am choosing to pursue a career as a labor and delivery nurse because they get to provide care to babies, they get paid well, and they get to assist in the delivery process.

I feel that being present to watch new life come into this world is one of the greatest gifts. I find the female body to be truly fascinating. I also want to be a labor and delivery nurse because I want women to feel heard, comfortable, and cared for during one of their most exposed and vulnerable events. I always want them to look back and feel that besides their family, their nurse was their biggest supporter and cheerleader. Labor and delivery nurses can truly change a woman's birthing experience. I would also love to be able to go back to school to become a nursing professor. I have always had a thing for teaching and showing others and I feel that being a nursing professor would allow my life to feel more fulfilled. I want nursing students to enjoy their experience and feel confident in what they are learning and how they are performing. If I become a professor, I feel that I can provide that wisdom and enthusiasm to help them succeed. As a student myself, I really value the professors who speak about their personal journey through nursing school and I love when they give words of encouragement and wisdom. I feel it is important for students to see that even when the road seems closed off and impossible to get through, with a little pushing, there is always a way to

Ever since I was a child I have always loved taking care of infants. I have an extremely large family so there was always babies to tend to. My grandmother babysat all of my cousins and my, since I was one of the oldest grandchildren I became another set of hands to help with all the children. I changed my first diaper when I was 6 years old, and I still remember my grandmother watching over me as I secured the wings of the diaper down. I have always known I wanted to have a career in the medical field, but it wasn't until a few years ago when it finally clicked and I realized the neonatal intensive care unit was the place I wanted to be.

According to the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNMb) (2015), home births account for 1.4% of all births in the U.S. In eight years the number of home births in the US increased by 41% (ACNM, 2015b). Providing home births falls within the scope of practice of midwives and is supported by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM, 2015b). A mother can have the option of a home birth as long as the home birth follows regulations set in place by the state and can provide a favorable safe environment for both mother and newborn (ACNM, 2015b). Both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) state that the ultimate decision of having a home birth is a patient’s right, especially if she is medically well informed (Declercq, & Stotland, 2016).

Two years ago, I was introduced to midwifery when my brother and his girlfriend were considering options for the impending birth of my nephew. Since that time, everything I’ve pursued and studied has helped bring me a step closer to becoming a midwife myself. I find pregnancy, childbirth, and babies to be the most fascinating things in the world. I spend heaps of time independently researching different aspects of childbirth. Last year, I wrote a research paper on the differences between home births and hospital births, and I’m currently working on a podcast about home births and the role midwives play. There's so much knowledge out there that I was oblivious to; once I figured out that pregnancy, birth, and even postpartum care need not be