Teaching Antenatal Classes continued...

I haven't blogged in a while and while putting out content about midwifery practices and recent news reports, I realised I hadn't yet finished my reflection on completing teaching antenatal classes.

After my first post on beginning antenatal classes I then had the opportunity to teach another group of prim mothers - and I jumped at the chance. Midwives are both healthcare supporters and educators. And I needed to build my confidence on the education side of things, especially as more and more opportunities approach me to do public speaking.

I really enjoyed the first set of classes as it was like reaching out into the unknown. I developed systems and trialled use of resources to engage both mothers and father. I found my tone of voice when discussing certain subjects needed changing and that my wide experiences of working in midwifery-led labour care and obstetric unit labour care helped greatly when answering women's worries about pain relief, mobility and options in childbirth, and postnatal care.

Class 2 was Labour 2 - focused around pain relief and options in labour and birth. I also found it important to discuss potential for change in birth, including touching on need for forceps or emergency c-section deliveries. We discussed birth plans and mobility in labour. Here I felt the women listened intently to the science around childbirth and it was fun to discuss the hormones which supported birth and this time the group was very vocal in asking questions.

Class 3 was Infant Feeding - I outlined at the beginning of the class about the UNICEF baby friendly initiative and that the session was focused around breastfeeding initially, but did outline to the mothers choosing formula feeding that I would discuss sterilisation and making up feeds correctly. I tried to involve both types of feeding when discussing key elements such as skin to skin, bonding, and wet/dirty nappies. Honestly I found this difficult as I am very pro breastfeeding however it was great to answer questions surrounding mothers worries about milk production and how best to care for themselves when breastfeeding. I had positive feedback from the mothers choosing formula that they didn't feel excluded.

I didn't undertake the fourth class as this was relaxation and was provided by a trained midwife. However I encouraged my group to attend as we had discussed a lot about breathing, feeling of control and I felt this would be beneficial.

Overall the feedback was positive with some expectant mothers recognising me at clinic, or working in day assessment unit and discussing classes with me. I felt it helped build trust and rapport with mothers. Especially as a third year student midwife as I felt a positive experience with a student might make then more open to having students present at their births (something I have found is still declined in our trust).

I developed a lot of skills from those classes and hope to apply then to my parent craft presentation I have at university soon.

Ruth
twitter: @ruth_stmw