"And the Nobel goes to..."
Not long after the Lollipop was born I was sent an appraisal form from the midwifery council here asking me to answer some questions about my experience with my midwife. It was the easiest and quickest questionnaire I’ve ever completed. I have nothing but praise for my midwife and admiration for all women for whom midwifery is a chosen profession. I don’t know about anywhere else but here at the end of the world, midwifery is not a high paying profession, these women do this work because they believe they make a difference. If I had to do it all again I’d chose a midwife over an obstetrician without a moment’s hesitation. The midwives I met varied considerably in age and experience, but all of them had the empathy and understanding that comes with shared experience, something a male obstetrician will never have.
My principal midwife was young and almost bursting at the seams with enthusiasm, something I found to be oddly reassuring. I found myself relaxing almost instantly in her company and completely letting down my guard, I liked that I was allowed to have bad days and she remained completely neutral. The interest and time she took to accommodate us and get to know us made me feel like I was her only patient, while in truth she is was very busy. I appreciated her honesty, which was never brutal or “sugar coated.” It was refreshing to ask a question and not feel like I’d asked a stupid one; it was even more refreshing to have an answer that I understood the first time round. I’m sure I was not her most laid back or easy patient, it’s not in my nature to be so but she never lost her patience or her smile. She oozed positive energy which made the appointments worthwhile especially near the end when just getting out of bed was a lot of effort.
Apart from having to deal with characters like myself midwives also have the added pressure of hormone imbalances, ignorance, unrealistic expectations and complete character changes during labour. These women put up with some rather colourful abuse, my midwife said she had a lot of stories to tell the grandchildren. After a conversation with one midwife I was left with impression that midwives are not taken seriously by the medical profession. I am sure as a generalisation that is not entirely true, but one GP I consulted did refer to them as “just a midwife.” Not something you say to someone like me who happily puts midwives on a pedestal, though I didn’t have the energy at the time to tear a strip off him I did give him a dirty look. So it seems to me that on top of everything else these women also have to defend their profession to some degree.
Like everywhere else, I’m sure, having children at the end of the world is costly, but unlike home here you have options which make things a little less heavy on the pocket. I could chose to have a midwife as my “lead maternity care” or I could chose to go to a private obstetrician. I could choose to have free care or pay in the region of $3000 or so. I’m sure the cost varies depending where I went but that was the first and only quote I got. I didn’t look any further because I had made up my mind beforehand that I wanted this second pregnancy to be very different from my first and I didn’t trust an obstetrician to see things my way. It is a decision and experience I will always be grateful for! There are medical reasons for using an obstetrician, I had one but I was determined to avoid them if I could and thanks to my awesome midwife I did. Back home if someone uses a midwife or has a home birth, among the people I knew anyway, they were seen as unusual or labelled “strange.” Throw in birthing in water and you’d really be considered slightly odd. Having said that though it does seem to be a trend that is catching on and I think that’s bloody marvellous. Here it is so common for woman to have home births, hospital births seem unusual. I have no doubt that if pregnancy was not government funded here it would be just as expensive as anywhere else and the ratio of woman who have caesareans and bottle feed would be much higher than it is.
It is precisely because it is government funded that the more natural processes of pregnancy and birth are encouraged. As I have mentioned, midwives are not paid exceptionally high salaries, and giving birth at home doesn’t cost the government anything so encouraging woman to make these choices costs the government less. A winning situation in my book because giving the mum to be so many options empowers her to make choices that fit her best and in the end have a very positive birth experience, no mum wants to come through that thinking “if only.”
Back home a mum to be has to rely on her “medical aid” to help cover the costs of monthly “gynae” visits and hospital costs. Though I never came across it I know that alternative options like midwifery are available but they are expensive and not covered by “medical aid,” making it out of reach for someone like me. You end up going where the “money” dictates and, certainly in my case come away from the experience feeling rather vacant.
I know there are women out there who will completely disagree with me and that’s okay by me. I stand by my conviction that midwives do an awesome job and the role they play is seriously undervalued.
If there was a “Nobel” prize for midwifery, I’d nominate my midwife!
My principal midwife was young and almost bursting at the seams with enthusiasm, something I found to be oddly reassuring. I found myself relaxing almost instantly in her company and completely letting down my guard, I liked that I was allowed to have bad days and she remained completely neutral. The interest and time she took to accommodate us and get to know us made me feel like I was her only patient, while in truth she is was very busy. I appreciated her honesty, which was never brutal or “sugar coated.” It was refreshing to ask a question and not feel like I’d asked a stupid one; it was even more refreshing to have an answer that I understood the first time round. I’m sure I was not her most laid back or easy patient, it’s not in my nature to be so but she never lost her patience or her smile. She oozed positive energy which made the appointments worthwhile especially near the end when just getting out of bed was a lot of effort.
Apart from having to deal with characters like myself midwives also have the added pressure of hormone imbalances, ignorance, unrealistic expectations and complete character changes during labour. These women put up with some rather colourful abuse, my midwife said she had a lot of stories to tell the grandchildren. After a conversation with one midwife I was left with impression that midwives are not taken seriously by the medical profession. I am sure as a generalisation that is not entirely true, but one GP I consulted did refer to them as “just a midwife.” Not something you say to someone like me who happily puts midwives on a pedestal, though I didn’t have the energy at the time to tear a strip off him I did give him a dirty look. So it seems to me that on top of everything else these women also have to defend their profession to some degree.
Like everywhere else, I’m sure, having children at the end of the world is costly, but unlike home here you have options which make things a little less heavy on the pocket. I could chose to have a midwife as my “lead maternity care” or I could chose to go to a private obstetrician. I could choose to have free care or pay in the region of $3000 or so. I’m sure the cost varies depending where I went but that was the first and only quote I got. I didn’t look any further because I had made up my mind beforehand that I wanted this second pregnancy to be very different from my first and I didn’t trust an obstetrician to see things my way. It is a decision and experience I will always be grateful for! There are medical reasons for using an obstetrician, I had one but I was determined to avoid them if I could and thanks to my awesome midwife I did. Back home if someone uses a midwife or has a home birth, among the people I knew anyway, they were seen as unusual or labelled “strange.” Throw in birthing in water and you’d really be considered slightly odd. Having said that though it does seem to be a trend that is catching on and I think that’s bloody marvellous. Here it is so common for woman to have home births, hospital births seem unusual. I have no doubt that if pregnancy was not government funded here it would be just as expensive as anywhere else and the ratio of woman who have caesareans and bottle feed would be much higher than it is.
It is precisely because it is government funded that the more natural processes of pregnancy and birth are encouraged. As I have mentioned, midwives are not paid exceptionally high salaries, and giving birth at home doesn’t cost the government anything so encouraging woman to make these choices costs the government less. A winning situation in my book because giving the mum to be so many options empowers her to make choices that fit her best and in the end have a very positive birth experience, no mum wants to come through that thinking “if only.”
Back home a mum to be has to rely on her “medical aid” to help cover the costs of monthly “gynae” visits and hospital costs. Though I never came across it I know that alternative options like midwifery are available but they are expensive and not covered by “medical aid,” making it out of reach for someone like me. You end up going where the “money” dictates and, certainly in my case come away from the experience feeling rather vacant.
I know there are women out there who will completely disagree with me and that’s okay by me. I stand by my conviction that midwives do an awesome job and the role they play is seriously undervalued.
If there was a “Nobel” prize for midwifery, I’d nominate my midwife!
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