Hi everyone!
I’ve been doing a lot of research into Hypnobirthing recently, enough that I’m drafting up a Midwifery 101 on it.
It’s currently not offered in NHS hospitals nationwide, which I think is a real shame.
But I want your opinions too, which I’ll include in it.
Have you seen hypnobirthing in practice? Or have you used it yourself? Did you find it/do you think it’s effective? How did you/the woman use it? Would you recommend it to others?
Over the past few weeks I’ve been thinking about starting a new series (much like my midwifery 101) that is based upon the life of a student midwife.
Just as Midwifery 101 focuses on the role of the midwife and pregnancy, this series will focus on what it is like to be a student from applying to universities all the way through to finishing the course.
It will talk about emotions & feelings, mentorship issues, the application and interview process, your first few days on placement, tough situations and what the course is really like, amongst other things. It will also cover women’s experiences of being cared for by a student.
But I want your help!
I want this series to be as interactive and inclusive of your views as possible. I want to hear your experiences, whether you’re currently applying to the course, are currently training or had a student midwife care for you at some point during your pregnancy or labour. Or perhaps you’re a doula who has views on students, or even a partner or family friend who has seen one of us in action.
I’d like to read your experiences about any aspect of the student midwife, and use them in the series. This creates a much more rounded view, rather than focusing on just my own experience.
I have a submission page available on my blog for you to use.
You can write about absolutely anything to do with being a student midwife or being cared for by one. Whether it’s positive or negative. Whether it’s an event you’ve been through or just a rant about how scary applying for the course can be!
I really hope people get on board with this, I’d hate for it to just be me rambling on at you all like I usually do!
I often see posts on tumblr asking what expectant mothers should take to the hospital with them. I’m posting my own list based on personal experience as a student midwife to help you guys out.
This is going under a read more because it is huge. Areas I am covering include:
Essentials for mum
Essentials for baby
Additional essentials
Birth partner’s hospital bag
Optional extras
Not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but the NHS has a fab website for my pregnant followers to have a gander at.
It has a truckload of information about getting pregnant (including infertility), pregnancy, labour, the postnatal period and the first few years of life. I use it all the time to make sure the advice I’m giving out is accurate and based on the best available evidence.
It covers almost everything.I love it.
How to Breast Feed Your Baby
Thought this video was helpful. I’m taking a breast feeding class next week because I heard that babies don’t automatically “know” what to do. Hope this video helps my fellow mumblrs.
“The NHS is desperately short of midwives, and the shortage affects
every region of England.
We need urgent action from the Government to protect your maternity care.
Show your support for babies and mothers across the country by signing
our petition today.”
I know I have posted this a lot, but it is so important that these shortages end!
Birth centres for low-risk, natural birth are being closed due to understaffing, and the women are being sent to high-risk units who are more likely to intervene unnecessarily.
The hospital I work in is struggling to cope with a massive increase in births, due to two local birthing centres being closed down by the government.
We’ve accepted several thousand more women every year, yet the staff numbers have not increased to reflect this increase.
This petition needs 100,000 signatures to be recognised by the government, and with only two days left we’re stuck on 70,000.
Please please please please help end the shortage!
Please don’t get upset about this post. I’m not trying to start an argument, if anything I just want all the anger to stop.
If you think someone has made a fake pregnancy blog, please please please just ignore it.
If it’s fake, then they are going to love all the attention they get from it, even the anon hate. Because if they didn’t crave that, they wouldn’t continue writing it. Sending messages to them is only fuelling the fire.
I completely agree that it is wrong, especially when they fake miscarriages or other traumatic events. It’s disgusting, and they have no right to make up lies about it.
However, if you just ignore them, and they don’t get the reblogs and messages that they are after, they’ll soon get bored and move on.
And, just occasionally, people are wrong. I know of one or two real pregnancy blogs that were plagued with anon hate messages, and were later able to prove that their pregnancy was real (with ultrasounds/bump pics etc).
I know that the fakers are annoying and just plain offensive to women actually going through pregnancy and all that comes with it, and feel free to stare at their blog thinking “what a load of rubbish”, but just leave it at that.
Maybe then, they’ll leave you all alone too.
Some of the anon hate that mums-to-be get on here is truly disgusting. Sending horrible comments to young girls is bad enough, but wishing death to their unborn child? What is wrong with you?!
Whoever you people are, I hope you’re proud of yourselves. So rude.
In the UK, NICE guidelines (2008) recommend an antenatal visiting pattern for all pregnant women, which looks like this (dates are approximate):
10 Weeks: Booking appointment with midwife. This is where we take all your medical/obstetric history, give out some early information and advice, and create your handheld notes.
10-14 Weeks: Ultrasound scan to date the pregnancy and supply an accurate due date.
16 Weeks: Midwife appointment, usually involving a urine test, blood pressure check, abdominal palpation and listen in to baby.
18-20 Weeks: Ultrasound scan to detect anomalies, such as cardiac defects. This is also the scan where you can determine the sex of the baby.
25 Weeks: Midwife appointment (for those in their first pregnancy only).
28 Weeks: Midwife appointment.
31 Weeks: Midwife appointment (first pregnancy only).
34 Weeks: Midwife appointment.
36, 38 Weeks: Midwife appointment.
40 Weeks: Midwife appointment (first pregnancy only).
41 Weeks: Midwife appointment to discuss options e.g. induction.
This is for women with straightforward pregnancies. Women with twins or gestational diabetes, for example, may have more appointments with obstetricians in the hospital.
I was just wondering how mums/midwives/CNMs from other countries find their experiences match up to the UK system? I love learning about midwifery in other cultures and countries, so please do share your experiences!
