You are so right about many Australian Midwives being prevented from gaining the full spectrum of skills necessary for total care of well women. As you said the answer is to give midwives the opportunity to learn what they should not just want OB's want them to learn. Those midwives who work independently, in birth centres and some in hospitals have had to actively chase the knowledge and experience necessary to do their work properly. It is hard work sometimes. All worth it though when you have a satisfying birth with a woman who you have developed a relationship with antenatally. Cheers Judy
--- wump fish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I think there is a difference between the training and skills > of Australian > mw and UK mw. But, this largely exists due to the different > maternity > systems and the blocks placed on practice by the obs. Your mw > training is > reliant on the experiences you are able to access. For > example, as a direct > entry mw in the UK my training began in the community with a > community > midwife providing midwifery-led care with a family focus. By > the end of our > course we were expected to be able to provide total care for > 'normal' women > (including suturing). > > I realise that I have a limited viewpoint at present, but I > have noticed > that the mainstream perception of midwives is that we are > nurses with a mid > specialisation, and even refer to each other as nurses. People > are getting a > bit sick of me correcting them when they call me a nurse. > Midwives are > prevented from maintaining and developing skills by hospital > systems. For > example, I have been told I am not allowed to suture! Many mw > do not rotate > and will only work in one area eg. postnatal. I am working on > an escape plan > to get out of the maternity system as I can see my midwifery > skills being > worn away. > > I am sure that the independent mws and birth centre mws are > more than able > to provide total care for women. But, I wonder if mws who have > been trained > in the mainstream system and have only worked in this system > would have the > skills, experience or confidence to provide total care for > women. > > If Dr Giltrap is correct, then the answer is not to leave > birth the the obs, > but to improve mw education and empower the mw profession. > > Rachel > > >From: Vedrana Valèiæ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Reply-To: [email protected] > >To: <[email protected]> > >Subject: RE: [ozmidwifery] Fw: 'Higher risk' in midwife > deliveries > >(http://theaustralian.com.au report) > >Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 08:54:14 +0200 > > > >" Obviously scary rubbish makes better news than > >truthful lovely births." > > > >I think you are SO right there. > >It seems to me that viewing birth as a disaster just waiting > to happen, > >even if it is a "normal" birth, is Dr Giltrap's problem. > Plus, I'm still > >trying to understand what he meant by: > >"Dr Giltrap claimed Australian midwives were not as well > trained as their > >European counterparts and Australian standards were often > higher than those > >in Europe." > > > >There is a resolution by EU which states how many hours of > what midwives > >have to have, and I doubt that it is more than you have in > Australia. > > > > > > > > > >-----Original Message----- > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > Janet Fraser > >Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 6:22 AM > >To: [email protected] > >Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Fw: 'Higher risk' in midwife > deliveries > >(http://theaustralian.com.au report) > > > >Rachel (welcome btw!) I hear everything you're saying and I > concur. It's so > >transparently about a professional monopoly but their own > brilliant > >misinformation campaign is so entwined with our current > cultural fears > >around normal physiological birth that very little gets into > the media to > >contradict it. Of course what I really want is for them to > have to answer > >how all the guff they spout really stands up against the > research but the > >seven second soundbite only allows long enough for scare > tactics, not > >evidence. It's interesting to me that in many years of > writing letters to > >SMH and The Age, I have never had one published on birth > issues. I've got > >quite a track record on political issues of other kinds, but > not even the > >most benign letter on home birth or midwifery has made it > into their > >publications. Obs and midwives get published a bit but very > rarely > >consumers. I sent letters to every major paper plus regionals > for Home > >Birth > >Awareness Week last year, and not one was published. That's a > lot of > >editors > >making the same decision. Obviously scary rubbish makes > better news than > >truthful lovely births. > >Food for thought! > >J > >-- > >This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > >Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or > unsubscribe. > >-- > >This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > >Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or > unsubscribe. > > _________________________________________________________________ > Dont just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! > http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ > > -- > This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or > unsubscribe. > ____________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! 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