Checking in. Three months into my new journey...

Wow so that is me three months a qualified as a midwife and it still doesn't seem real some days and on others I absolutely relish the ability to make decisions with women in my care, and support women and families postnatally and some antenatally.

I've experienced many things from a 35 week PPROM delivery, treating women with Diabetes on steroid protocols, an unplanned 32 weeker c-section on Christmas Day, and countless breastfeeding and expressing support for new mothers.
I've experienced day shifts where my caseload can range up to 8 women, and night shift where I care for half of the ward at 12/13 women. Both antenatal and postnatal, many women experiencing a variety of needs including; blood pressure profiles, control of blood sugars in gestational and insulin dependent diabetic mothers, unstable lie of fetus, PET, twin pregnancy, premature labour, PPROM, breastfeeding support, care post general anaesthetic, family bonding, alcohol detox and so many others. Each day is different.

Working in the postnatal ward is hard work, there is always challenges but the team I work with have been fantastic at settling me in. I've even had a student or two shadow me and it feels surreal that I will soon be mentoring students.

That's one thing that was always a key part of my learning journey, the ‘student-mentor relationship' and with the new first year students arriving on the wards we've experienced the different personalities and learning types of different students. I'll be writing a post on this soon. Watch this space. I'll be a post a week hopefully, and a few ad hoc when there are topics to discuss / events to review.

Call the Midwife has started up again and I find that with each episode I'm experiencing and being reminded where and how our practice has developed over history. It's so interesting to see, in a dramatised fashion of course, how crucial midwifery is. Every woman needs a midwife.

A tweet I saw from Yana Richens, (Deputy Head Maternity Services NHS England) that the 'public are educated through social media, #midwives now need to be more involved in letting the public know what #midwives do'



This is my new aim with this blog and my twitter and instagram

Follow me... twitter: @Ruth_NQM /  Instagram: @sagefeminist_

Ruth x