Re: [ozmidwifery] Midwifery-led units - warning, a bit of a rave!

[JoFromOz]

Tania Smallwood wrote: What an interesting and thought provoking conversation...I have always felt too that there must be a middle ground, but surely, we need to be adequately and realistically preparing women for what they will face when they get home. A new mother expects to be tired, and yes, we can try in hospital to give them time to rest, but taking a baby to the nursery, bottle feeding it, and letting mothers sleep all night until the day of discharge, (which is what I saw happen in my midwifery training, only a few years ago) is surely a recipe for disaster. Reality has to hit eventually, surely it's better to happen with the support of midwives during those first few days, so some strategies can be made to cope with excessive feeding, not settling etc, rather than finding out on the first night home that your baby doesn't actually sleep all night! I'm not sure I agree that we need to be 'prioritising' the mothers need for rest over the babies need for attention, I think it is our job as midwives to help the new family adjust to the needs of the new baby, to be able to recognize the need for rest, and then to gain the skills and strategies to be able to achieve that rest, while adjusting to all the demands of new parenting. So it is a juggling act, but shouldn't we be trying to arm women and couples with ways of dealing with it, rather than taking away the 'problem' and creating a false sense of reality? I think 'woman friendly' needs to be seen in a realistic light, we are there to help the women in their early mothering, this for me, does not include taking over part of that mothering, or protecting her from the realities she will face only too soon, without the safety net of midwifery staff on tap. Just my thoughts... Tania -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of brendamanning Sent: Wednesday, 21 September 2005 4:23 PM To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Midwifery-led units - warning, a bit of a rave! Kate, Must admit I also promote 'women friendly' care, not including some of the things your colleague does, but if we don't care for the mothers how can we expect them to nurture their babies?? They need nurturing too, mothers need mothering & baby-friendly can be very hard on the women. I feel that his is where the term 'breast-feeding nazi' originated, not prioritising the maternal need for rest & recovery/convalescence over the obsession with infant attention. Must be a happy medium ! BM ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kate &/or Nick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au> Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2005 3:22 PM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Midwifery-led units - warning, a bit of a rave! ----- >>how about the 'woman friendly birth centre'? There's a lot of different definitions of that one. Just had a placement with a m/w who promoted woman-friendly over baby-friendly. Her idea of w-f was to have longer hospital stays, baby in nursery, bottlefed until woman's milk comes in. She theorised that it would give mother a chance to sleep, recover from the birth, and remove the stress of a hungry baby unable to feed. Just doesn't gel to me. Kate -- 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. -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. I agree, Tania.  Antenatally, the women need to focus more on parenting and what to expect there, rather than just the labour and birth.  It's just not normal to have a mother and baby separated just so Mum can get some sleep.  If she was meant to have sleep, then the baby would be asleep.  This is where the midwives need to be woman-friendly and push this sleeptime for mum, and kick those pesky visitors out! Personally, I don't believe in visitors in maternity wards, except of course the partner and any of their other children.  Ok, perhaps one hour a day, max.  It's just such an important time for learning new skills and getting as much rest as baby allows.  Visitors only seem to get in the way! JMHO :) Jo (Mum to Will, almost 4 months old, and who is developing eczema)