....Recently in working with a follow thru woman, I attended her pregnancy
care visits to the hospital....her model of care was midwife-led care in a
birthing unit.....but I was amazed at how subordinate and not so midwife-led
it was. Some of the midwives were in their care of the woman far happier to
defer or abdicate decisions to the doctors inorder to 'keep the peace' and
were very accepting of medical dominant policy/protocol....While some of the
midwives seem to embrace the whole responsibility/accountability
thing....many do not...and would rather be seen in the handmaiden role in
preference to accepting full responsibility for their midwife role. I suppose
what I'm getting at here is if midwives don't see themselves differently to
nurses...if midwives don't take themselves seriously as autonomous
practitioners...if midwives don't have the trust and faith in their midwifery
knowledge and skills to embrace responsibility and accountability...then how
can we ask that anyone else does....be it the government...the medical
profession...the public..???
yours in reforming midwifery
Tina Pettigrew
Bachelor of Midwifery Student
Victoria University
I have to agree with you Tina. Our birth centre midwives are autonymous but I find the attitude you describe in the Birth Suite of the Women's Health Unit. There are some that try to step out but not enough. When I hear stories of other units I believe that ours is further down the track but still has a long way to go. I will have to leave them to it though as I go to Mareeba soon.
I wrote recently about a woman booked for CS who birthed under her own steam. During the morning when I was getting to know her and finding out what she WANTED to do, she said she wanted a normal birth. I did the empowering thing of saying, among other things, they can't do a CS if she doesn't sign the consent, she said "Already done yesterday in preadmission". I got the form and gave it to her and she tore it up. Great. NOW not able to do a CS without further explanation. As it was she progressed and pushed well and is a happy woman after a normal birth.
Judy
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