Dear list,
I am a midwife who is very passionate and very for woman centred care. I love being a midwife and can not imagine not being a midwife, but l have become so dissolusioned with the system that it is breaking my heart. I have been a midwife for 5 years and feel that the system (especially where l work in a large country city) which is medical based has not changed. It has actually become worse. Despite being a strong advocate for evidence based practice and presenting this evidence to doctors and management, l have been walked all over, some midwives have been yelled at, 'put in their places' by RESIDENTS and we have basically have our hands tied. The amount of autonomy we have is decreasing, which makes me feel sometimes that all the hospital wants are obstetric nurses. They do not want midwives because they cause too much trouble. Who cares about the women? Management want to make the doctors happy and stuff the midwives.
One example, i am really against the use of CTG's in normal pregnancy and labour. Because of one bad outcome, management wants to introduce admission CTGs for all women who present in labour. I produced for them so much evidence based material which actually states that this is not a good idea, but they introduced it anyway. I dont know why l try because nothing worse. I dont know what to do and all my collegues feel like this as well. We need different models of care, we need to take over the care of women in normal pregnancy and birth. I fully endorse NMAP but will it have an effect in my workplace. Will it really change the obnoxious doctors we work with and management who only care about beds and money? Midwives have tried to get a midwives clinic in this town for 11 years, but has been blocked by the doctors (one in particular). We have no free antenatal care except for one midwife who works with aboriginal women (who we also refer white women to). If women only knew what was going on and they care they get from their doctors is less than substandard.
I hate feeling like this. Women are being ripped off, assulted, and their rights violated, and there is only so much l can do. I do the best l can for these women but l feel that it is no where near enough. It makes me feel like l have a hollow pit in my stomach thinking of coming to work. But l love midwifery, and l know that what ever happens, l need to go on...
sorry, but l really needed to get this off my chest.
MIdwife trying to make a difference
Fiona Dunmore
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