Having a bit of a soppy moment about my life and midwifery and how glad I am that I chose this path.
Someone slap me before I start getting all gushy.
Having a bit of a soppy moment about my life and midwifery and how glad I am that I chose this path.
Someone slap me before I start getting all gushy.
Hope all my UK followers are enjoying the bank holiday!
As for me, I’m off to a late shift on the delivery suite. Bank holidays don’t mean a day off to me anymore!
Emotional story of Freddy, who was treated with newborn cooling following a traumatic delivery. Beautiful video of a beautiful boy, and some very touching words from his mum below.
“We ♥ NHS
Reading, Berkshire 20/12/2011
I went into rapid labour at home. Our NHS midwife had examined me not long before and I was 1 cm dilated. When she left to return when I was further along my waters broke, thick with meconium. I couldn’t move. 2 midwives were called back to assess me for a transfer to hospital by ambulance. We all assumed I was still only a few cms dilated, But so quickly the pain worsened and by the time my Midwives had arrived minutes later I was pushing Freddy’s head out. I had been in labour for only 20 minutes ( 1st baby ). Something was very wrong. He was severely stuck. Shoulder Dystocia. An ambulance had been called but It had been extremely busy this night. The busiest ever in fact and all ambulances were already out on calls. An ambulance had been dispatched from sandhurst and was racing to assist us.
It took 8 minutes to free Freddys shoulder.So desperate as his cord had snapped and he was getting no Oxygen at all. The midwives used every skill and determination to release him and all the time reassuring me and stopping the panic setting in. At last he was born but he was still….So still. He was gone.
All I could hear through my own desperate screams were 2 Incredible women trying to bring my little baby back to life. The ambulance was on its way but for now they were on their own. For a further 15 minutes these 2 ladies who I had only met this night worked desperately to save our son. They never relented, they never stopped. They kept fighting and breathing . Their silence was full of desperation to see a glimmer of hope.
The ambulance pulled up and Karen screamed for the paramedics to get in the ambulance. She scooped Freddy up and dashed him to the ambulance. It roared off sirens bellowing.
Me and my partner had to wait for news. Rose had stayed behind and was so gentle to us. She was our rock in those 5 minutes. We were falling apart. We were grieving as there could be no way he would survive. But a call came through from Karen. As she had arrived outside the hospital ready to rush him in he had taken his first breath in her arms.20 minutes after he was born. We all broke down with joy and relief. Rose took care of me and made sure every effort was made to keep me comfortable as I was transferred to hospital. She never left my side. Every person who took care of us was understanding, caring and showed us love and respect.
Our little boy was so poorly it was feared he would pass away or be left with severe brain damage after his birth. 4 hours later he was transferred to Oxford for the pioneering Newborn cooling technique. He was given induced hypothermia in the hope it would reduce the swelling on the brain and give him a fighting chance. I was also admitted to Oxford where every midwife, Doctor, Nurse and worker showed us nothing but kindness and love.We were given a special family room so my partner could stay by my side and a lovely midwife on the ward was checking me every few hours to ensure I was ok.
On Christmas eve 2011 our little boy was warmed up. To the shock and delight of all who had cared for him he was showing signs of being 100% healthy which is unheard of after such trauma. The staff in Oxford shared our joy and lavished Freddy with cuddles. We spent Christmas day in the Nicu. Holding our baby boy and crying with happiness. Freddy received gifts from the unit, a card and all the staff though missing Christmas with their families never once showed any negativity. They looked after us as if we were their family. from my midwife leaving me a beautiful note on a napkin wishing us a merry Christmas to the NICU nurse who stayed on at work an extra 2 hours on Christmas day so she could be the one to bring Freddy from NICU to our room for the first time. Just lovely people surrounding us.
On boxing day we were able to take our baby home and he has thrived ever since. He is absolutely amazing and has met every milestone and more. We cherish and love him endlessly x
Here he is now 16 months on. You would never believe he went through what he did. He survived because there were dedicated people full of heart and determination who believed in him and never gave up. We can never thank them enough.
The NHS is part of our country. It has its faults as every organisation has, every person has. We are not perfect. But we should sometimes look beyond the press and the negativity and really look at the miracles occurring every day. I would be sending kisses to the clouds instead of kissing my baby goodnight right now if it wasnt for the NHS staff who touched our lives that Christmas.
I will always support the NHS because it has heart and soul ♥
Because of what happened to my baby as a family we now raise awareness for the cooling technique. Info can be found on www.cooltosavealife.com.
Thank you for reading . Lots of love
Nicky, daniel and Freddy xxxxxxxx”
Hilarious (if not a little gorey!) midwifery birthday cake by Vicki Falls in Scotland who posted it on the RCM faceboook page!
Had a meeting with my academic advisor today, and we discussed what I was going to do when I graduated.
I am desperate to go home and work as a midwife there. I’m a homebird, and as much as I love England I really wouldn’t be happy living here permanently.
What I’m worried about is that jobs might not come up at home at the right time,or even worse, jobs might come up that I get turned down for!
My academic advisor has told me that if that happens, I should go bank (part time, zero hours contract) so that when jobs come up I’m a good candidate as I’ll have experience in that hospital already.
It won’t affect my preceptorship - I’ll just do it once I’m permanent - and as long as there are a few bank shifts a week, I’ll make a decent income. If I work around 22 hours a week on bank, I’d still take home what a full time, newly qualified midwife in the UK takes home working 37.5 hours.
But that’s if there’s plenty of bank shifts. And that’s if they’ll even take me on the bank talent pool.
My academic advisor even went to the lengths of saying I should move home regardless of what happens, and work in any job until a post as a midwife comes available. Any job. Not sure if that’s the right thing to do…
So my decision now is this. Do I still apply for jobs in England, in case a job/bank job at home doesn’t happen? Or do I go all out, and only apply for home, and risk ending up working somewhere unrelated like a shop or trust company until I can get a post?
“To celebrate this years IDM and help raise funds for the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the RCM are asking members to embrace their creative sides and get baking midwifery inspired cakes. ”
Very well said.
