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That was the bumper sticker I liked best as it does
strengthen the ideal of a supportive collaboration of women and
care provider. personalised care for any situation and individual
beliefs.
jo
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, April 09, 2004 4:52
PM
Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] midwife is a
midwife...?
Lets get back to
WOMEN IN THE
KNOW
KNOW A MIDWIFE
THere is a little
graphic of a pregnant woman and a midwife shaking hands in the middle of this
bumper sticker.
Jan
On Friday, April 9, 2004, at 01:25 PM,
Jo & Dean Bainbridge wrote:
I read this today and wanted to chat
about this without fear of being lynched! lol
And
given a birth I attended last week with the worst hospital midwife I have
ever met who was SO much less good than the obstetrician I am totally off
the idea
of a midwife is a midwife....
I am totally off
the idea of a midwife is a midwife....
I would
like to hazard a discussion that one of the problems we encounter is that
there ARE a proportion of midwives who do not support what our definition of
a midwives role/responsibility and so forth and these midwives are firmly
entrenched in the system...so when a woman births in a hospital (as so many
do) and go down the ob model (as so many do) they encounter some of these
midwives and leave the woman thinking the midwife was "awful".
I know
a that there are those wonderful woman focused midwives who still work
labour ward and so on, so I am not suggesting they are all 'bad'; but would
you say that the midwives who do fit our definition are the ones who put
their hands up for birth centre care and so on, thus leaving the 'obstetric
nurse type' who are less supportive to actively assisting the woman in
any other way other than increasing the drip or topping up the drugs.
In a long
winded, public holiday type way I am saying that : there are a few people
who would read a sticker like "I chose carefully: I chose a midwife" and say
"the midwife I had was a bitch! I would never chose her!" The public
are almost blind to the fact midwives are midwives not nurses, so to then
extend that understanding to the two types of midwives (which I call ob
nurses -"yes doctor, no doctor type" and the with woman midwife) is an
ask.
Perhaps we
need to suggest a system that does define the midwife from the obstetric
nurse?? I have heard from practicing midwives that they are not
supportive to things like case load or community midwifery because "...don't
want that type of responsibility" (actual quote). I have no idea of
how this would be done and not suggesting it would even work; but we must be
aware when addressing the general public we are aware that there is a
difference between those midwives who see women as someone to be
empowered and those who see the woman as someone to be rescued:
but do the general public??
"My Midwife empowered me to birth
beautifully!"
(awaiting the hate mail! lol)
Jo
Bainbridge
Jan
Robinson
8 Robin Crescent South Hurstville NSW 2221 Australia
Phone/Fax:
02 9546 4350 www: midwiferyeducation.com.au
National Coordinator Australian
Society of Independently Practising Midwives
(ASIM)
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