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

I recently came across an article when researching another blog post. The title grabbed me straight away “Am I too emotional for this job?” - An exploration of student midwives' experiences of coping with traumatic events in the labour ward (Coldridge and Davies 2017).  I was interested because of a few experiences I'd reflected on recently and the articles coming out in the news last year about change from normal birth and the reduction in nursing and midwifery applications and more midwives leaving than joining the profession (see here and here).

What is happening? Is it case of the profession not being appealing to young people, the politics of the NHS budget, the pay cap (read more from the RCM here) or simply the removal of the bursary in England and Wales?

For those who are studying and coming to the end of our student midwife journey - it is important that we continue to be well supported and encouraged when studying and in clinical practice in order to sustain the demand for passionate and empowered midwives needed across the UK.

New UCAS data has revealed the number of students applying for midwifery and nursing degrees are down by 8%. (RCM)

So back to the article. Coldridge and Davies look at students experiences of coping with traumatic experiences in a labour ward in a consultant led hospital in the North West of England. Focusing on a psychotheraputic perspective of a study undertaken by Davies and Coldridge in 2015. Here they examine the psychological tensions and anxieties that students face.

A few key points that stood out for me when reading this article include

• The awareness that student midwives are more vulnerable to psychological distress due to having a more empathetic relationship with woman and the unpredictable nature of birth itself
• In many instances students are left to make sense of experiences alone
• Which can lead to feelings of being unsupported, traumatised, uncertain of their abilities and even questioning their abilities to be a midwife.
• Students often flip between role of observer and practitioner and this can be uncomfortable when discovering how to best advocate for the woman - they feel uncomfortable discussing the best versus safest options.
• Lack a feeling of belonging between the space of the woman and the midwife ('No mans land' Coldridge and Davies 2017)
• Students are often disillusioned by reality of working in a busy labour ward
• More often the student has a higher personal investment in labouring woman

Unbelievably a few of these points were sounding familiar to what I had read in regard to midwives leaving the profession - so why are students being left with a feeling of uncertainty and a loss of their 'Midwifery spirit?'