For the past three weekends I have been attending the antenatal classes we offer in Luton. The course explores all aspects of labour, birth and life with a new baby. It has been fascinating meeting this group of women and their partners and learning from them.
It is very easy to follow our own agenda as midwives; focusing on the advice we need to give and the clinical features we have to monitor. It is far too easy to forget that the parents will have their own motives when accessing maternity services. They come with their own unique experience, understanding, hopes, fears and questions.
Although, as I am coming to the end of my course, I have a solid knowledge base, talking to these parents I realise there is still a lot more to learn. I had forgotten, for example, how difficult it can be to change a nappy on a squirming baby. For some of the couples in the group, their child will be the first contact they have ever had with a newborn. It must be an extremely daunting prospect knowing you are completely responsible for caring for this little human.
Being a midwife is so much more than delivering babies. It is supporting a woman as she makes the exciting and terrifying journey into motherhood. One of the simplest ways we can do this is through antenatal education classes.
It makes sense that the better prepared you are for something, the better the outcome will be. For example, when you take an exam at school, you will often do a mock paper in advance and your
teacher will explain the format of the examination. They can’t tell you what the questions will be, but they reduce the stress you feel by removing any other uncertainties you may have. Imagine you had to sit your last ever A Level examination and you didn’t know where it was taking place or what you would have to do. Understandably you would not do well.
The same applies for labour and birth. Many women are scared of the prospect of giving birth because they don’t understand what will happen to them. They may have watched One Born Every Minute and expect that their labour will neatly fit into the edited one hour programme they have seen on channel 4. This is not the case. They expect it to hurt and that they won’t be able to cope with that pain. This is also not always true. Usually when we are in pain, it is because we are not well and our body is telling us that something is wrong. In labour however, the body sends out hormones which act as a natural analgesia. If the woman can understand the process her body is going through,
instead of being scared of being in pain, she can embrace it and realise that it is helping her to meet her baby. With the correct preparation and belief in her amazing body, a mother can do wondrous things.
I am so grateful for the opportunity of being a part of the journey for the couples I have met in antenatal classes and thank them for reminding me of the importance of the softer skills of midwifery. See you next week!
It is very easy to follow our own agenda as midwives; focusing on the advice we need to give and the clinical features we have to monitor. It is far too easy to forget that the parents will have their own motives when accessing maternity services. They come with their own unique experience, understanding, hopes, fears and questions.
Although, as I am coming to the end of my course, I have a solid knowledge base, talking to these parents I realise there is still a lot more to learn. I had forgotten, for example, how difficult it can be to change a nappy on a squirming baby. For some of the couples in the group, their child will be the first contact they have ever had with a newborn. It must be an extremely daunting prospect knowing you are completely responsible for caring for this little human.Being a midwife is so much more than delivering babies. It is supporting a woman as she makes the exciting and terrifying journey into motherhood. One of the simplest ways we can do this is through antenatal education classes.
It makes sense that the better prepared you are for something, the better the outcome will be. For example, when you take an exam at school, you will often do a mock paper in advance and your
The same applies for labour and birth. Many women are scared of the prospect of giving birth because they don’t understand what will happen to them. They may have watched One Born Every Minute and expect that their labour will neatly fit into the edited one hour programme they have seen on channel 4. This is not the case. They expect it to hurt and that they won’t be able to cope with that pain. This is also not always true. Usually when we are in pain, it is because we are not well and our body is telling us that something is wrong. In labour however, the body sends out hormones which act as a natural analgesia. If the woman can understand the process her body is going through,
instead of being scared of being in pain, she can embrace it and realise that it is helping her to meet her baby. With the correct preparation and belief in her amazing body, a mother can do wondrous things.I am so grateful for the opportunity of being a part of the journey for the couples I have met in antenatal classes and thank them for reminding me of the importance of the softer skills of midwifery. See you next week!
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