Midwife Priorities

This is the midwives and the hospitals, and therefore your, number one priority. There are guidelines to follow and ways to reduce risk to women and their babies during a vulnerable time in their lives.

Pregnancy, birth and having a baby is a unique time and it is the job of the midwife to make sure that women have the best experience possible.

Caring for women and their families is the core to the NHS and being a midwife. The care that we deliver improves the health of everyone. It is important to give the care that is right for the individual, at the right time, in the right place.

Compassion is how care is given and is based on empathy, respect and dignity. This is central to how women and families will feel about the care that you provide. This perception will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

You training while in university and on placement ensures that when you qualify you are a competent midwife. You will be able to understand individual needs and have the expertise to provide the clinical care based on research.

Central to being a midwife is being able to communicate. Being able to listen to the needs and expectations of the women we are looking after, involving her in the decisions about her care is key. Communication is also essential for working with a team whether that is on labour ward or in the community.

You may wonder what does courage have to do with being a midwife? Being courageous means you are able to speak up when you have concerns, being an advocate for a woman that has particular wishes that need to be heard, questioning the way we work and making suggestions for putting changes into practice.

Being a midwife take a lot of commitment. That may be committing to the degree you are starting, the care you are providing and the choices you may have to make relating to your work/ life balance.

Every different environment will have a different uniform policy. This may be wearing your own clothes, a uniform or scrubs. The uniform policy normally includes only one plain wedding band, no nail varnish, one set of earrings and nothing below the elbows (including watches). You are representing your profession and the NHS Trust (or other organisation) that you work for at all times.

This doesn’t just apply to emergencies. It would have a negative impact if you weren’t able to stay calm whether you had spilled a cup of coffee or a woman that you are caring for was becoming aggressive. You will see a lot of emotions during labour; being consistent and calm helps all situations.

This covers lots of the other priorities, because to be professional involves maintaining high standards, taking responsibility, documenting the care that you are providing and communicating well.

You can’t afford to cut corners or take risks on taking care of a pregnant woman, new mother or a newborn. Whether you are responsible for an antenatal clinic, a lady in labour, community visits or doing parent education you need to keep the safety of yourself and others in mind. Community midwives are often known as lone workers, where there are policies to keep yourself safe while working alone. You may be aware that some women or partners need additional input due to safeguarding, but you may be the first person to be made aware of an issue.

These are in place to protect women, newborn and midwives. They have been carefully designed and need to be followed. There are times following discussion with a wider team that you will offer care that is out of the guidelines, but this is after documentation and agreement with everyone who will be providing the care to the women and her family, with a discussion about risk.

How you treat women during their pregnancy and birth will have a lasting impact on their experience. Take the trouble to be kind and helpful; think about how you would like a loved one to be cared for and use that as the standard of care that you will provide. If you are unkind or unhelpful, you may want to think whether this is the right career for you.

When you are a midwife, every day is different. You will find that it is less about birth and cuddling babies and more about being a counselor, social worker, nurse, cleaner, caterer and ‘IT expert’. Whatever situation you are presented with it is easier to do so with a positive attitude.

Women appreciate it when midwives take the time to listen to their concerns and requests and it helps you meet their needs better. Speaking clearly without using medical terminology or jargon is also vital to make sure your important messages have been understood.

Meeting people from different backgrounds with different cultures, beliefs and needs is a big part of the role. You need to be mindful of different requirements and sensitivities and how not to offend people who may be very different from yourself.

Your days and weeks will all be very different. You may be a midwife who only works on labour ward, or you may work everywhere throughout your working week. You may have a caseload of 50 women; how are you going to know who needs the required care, and when? It is very important to be organised, careful and systematic to ensure nobody ‘slips through the net’. Your documentation will be kept for 25 years following birth, so you need to document everything in a way that would support your practice should someone ask a question about an event in 24 years time.

You will find that a lot of women (and their partners) can be very anxious about pregnancy and birth. They will look to you for guidance and support throughout their pregnancy, birth and postnatal period. Being a confident and assertive midwife comes with experience, but this gives women confidence that they are safe with the care that you are giving them.

Working well within the team is very important to getting the job done. It takes good communication and being able to use each other’s skills and experiences to work in a truly co-operative way.