To a midwife, hearing a baby cry is the best thing you'll hear as they are releasing all the fluids from their lungs.
(NO NAMES OF PATIENTS OR HOSPITAL WILL BE MENTIONED TO PROTECT CONFIDENTIALITY)
Baby number 44!! How exciting!!!!!
I had delivered my first baby 👶 as a newly qualified midwife (43 during my degree) without any midwife in charge gleaming over my shoulders or someone preparing the resuscitate or getting extra towels. All ME!
I remember it so vividly. I was assigned a lovely lady in room 9 who already had children. In midwifery terms /language the more children you have the quicker your labour will be. Boy was she quick. I had taken handover at 0830 and by 0917 I noticed vertex was visible. 0916 head was delivered. 0919 baby was born.
But let me back track.
I had not delivered a baby since July and this was October /November. A whole four months, this may seem like nothing but I felt as though I had forgotten everything. My supernumerary days were over and I was basically sitting in the deep end, PIN registered and uniform on.
The lovely lady I was looking after had mention she felt an urge to push at the heigh of each contraction. She was coping well with gas and air and I knew she was progressing well. In light of this I advised her to go on all fours and believe you me neither one of us were ready. If you're a midwife you'll be familiar with the second stage push/groan. As soon as she turned over I could see vertex (the top of baby's head).
Please bear in mind I had no active stage medication (as she requested an active 3rd stage management due to the amount of children she had, maternal choice and other risk factors), no inco sheets (for the liquor from the amniotic sac) and no GLOVES to catch the baby which is the most important things right ?
Thankfully I managed to press the assistance buzzer as the head was advancing and asked for the relevant things needed.
0919 Baby 👶 delivered in my arms crying , stimulated, wrapped and handed to mum for skin to skin. Ahhhhh!
To a midwife hearing a baby cry is the best thing you'll hear as they are releasing all the fluids from their lungs, working hard to adjust into their new society.
I actually remember just sitting down on the stool and sighing so heavily watching a mother and baby bond. It was such a beautiful and surreal moment. After what I thought was an okay delivery for myself I was given a lovely card and chocolates 🍫 by the family. This gave me a huge confidence boost as at that time I constantly feared that I wouldn't become the midwife I was trained to be (I will disclose all I'm my next blog).
See the thing that shocked me most about my first (qualified) birth experience was that I was really performing as an autonomous practitioner. A lone worker who made her own decisions for both mother and baby and ... had to get her own towels (LOL). Yikes!
Looking back from experience during my training (in my training hospital trust) we called a second midwife in the room once the head was crowning for extra help.
In my current trust (probably because we are very high risk and so busy) we don't require a second midwife to be present unless you require additional assistance. Initially this process freaked me out and increased my anxiety levels, but now that I have gained more confidence over the past few months I have gotten used to it.
I am still on this journey and I have yet to encounter many experiences along the way. However for now I am happy, I am happy I have ventured out to become the midwife I have always wanted to be.
Jadesola Oginni