A bit of frustration, and a lot of joy

I began my second week of placement working with yet another person...I don't think I've actually worked with the same person twice yet. I think of myself being pretty easygoing and able to work with anyone but it's hard to learn when everyone works differently. Also I have a book which needs to be signed off by my mentor and at the moment I am concerned about getting the chance to get this done. Some things won't be done until I am on the Community part of my placement but some do need to be done now. Also we spend a lot of time sitting and waiting. I am pleased to be getting lots of practice at checking blood pressures and doing the postnatal checks but I want to be getting as broad a range of experience as I can. So at the beginning of this week I was feeling a bit frustrated and a bit flat with it all.

I did get the opportunity to observe another water birth which was brilliant, but it was literally just the birth that I observed; a fellow student of mine was able to be there for the care during labour part too and I just wanted my opportunity for a similar experience. And yesterday I finally got my turn. We had a labourer come over from the triage unit and I was able to be there throughout the labour and birth. I worked with yet another midwife; she was predominantly a community midwife but she did some shifts in the hospital as well which meant she did work quite differently from the others I had so far worked with.

I thoroughly enjoyed being a much more a part of the experience. I helped to care for the couple; helping with pain relief, moving positions, checking her pulse and blood pressure, palpating during a contraction, reassuring the father and giving the mother lots of encouragement. It was a beautiful birth and afterwards I really felt I had been a valuable part of the couples experience and almost wished I could have worked today to see them again before they went home.

When I got home I was still exhilarated from the experience and it really made me feel surer than ever that I had chosen the right career pathway for me. This was exactly what I wanted to do. Babies are cute and everything but being able to give that support and reassurance to women is what I want; to give women that belief in themselves and feel that amazing achievement that comes with giving birth.