Third day down. Today was my first day spent with the community midwifery team, which was interesting. There were a quite a few women who didn't attend clinics or who weren't in when we called, which was educational in it's own way. Midwifery is difficult. I sat with the whole team, elements of which I will be working with for the rest of the week, as they had what is locally known as a 'natter'. There was a bit of bitchiness as well, but this is common in my experience of women grouped together.
The latter part of the day involved another clinic, a bit more well attended this time. Bizarrely, there was myself, the midwife I was with and two medical students. I'm sure some patients would be intimidated. But most were fine with it. The medical students (the female of the pair was actually quite doc-hot) were quite cute in asking if they could discuss issues related to the patient in their tutor groups. I just give them the respect of anonymity and get on with it, personally.
Pretty standard stuff, all in all. My midwife-of-the-day told me the story of a 16 year old pregnant girl who had had to give birth in hiding from her family due to death threats. Lovely world we live in, eh? Apparently the mother had been able to reconcile, but the rest of the male side of the family refused to. The baby is probably going to be put up for adoption. Shame.
Tomorrow I have elected to spend a late shift up on the Birth Unit. This is a midwife-led part of the hospital, reserved for normal births in which few to no complications are anticipated. There are no doctors involved primarily, which is a bonus. Far too many people think doctors are skilled at delivering babies, when it's really midwives who know the score in 'normal' births. I don't like late shifts, and I don't want to ruin my 100% awesome record at helping in births, but on the optimistic side I could end up keeping the record alive and helping out another little person come into the world problem-free. I'm not sure if my hand can take the squeezing from another stressed mother, but it's worth the risk.
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3 comments:
"but this is common in my experience of women grouped together"
Of course, men never bitch ;0)
"Common", not "constant", you realise. And perhaps I've just met women more skilled in the arts of bitching.
Oh, and given it's mostly women who are employed as midwives I didn't get a chance to see groups of men bitching, alas.
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