The 5 things I love most about working in midwifery

If you're wondering if you should become a midwife Louisa is here to inspire you with the top 5 things she loves most about this role.

Topics covered in this video

Introduction

1) 1.41 mins - I love being able to educate people

2) 3.35 mins - Learning from the women I look after

3) 5.01 mins - Continuity of care

4) 6.41 mins - The look on dads' faces

5) 8.16 mins - Empowering women

Introduction

So today's video is actually going to be my five favorite things about midwifery.

Now, I could talk about this all day long.

I think I've probably done a video about this anyway, but I really do enjoy midwifery.

I say that so weirdly. Like, really do enjoy it.

Because it's a gray day outside today and it's raining and I'm not in the greatest of places, but I feel like thinking about midwifery, I think about all that I have, I guess.

It's something that is really important to me because it allows me to do so many things and reach so many people and to help people.

And that's important to me.

I want people to know me as and remember me as a person that helped others, a person who loved on others, when others may not have loved on them.

And so the fact that midwifery allows me to do that, I'm just happy that God called me to do this job because I just wouldn't be in this position really, I guess.

And I'm really glad that God was like, no, I've got something better for you, girl, because this is an amazing career and it's not just a job.

It's a career.

Yeah. I did not think I was going to get emotional.

1) 1.41 mins - I love being able to educate people

So yeah, let's just get on with this video.

I have it written on my phone so I may just look down. I'm not going to show you my phone because I cracked my screen yesterday and it's sad.

I love that.

I'm like, I love midwifery, but I've got to look at my notes.

But no, my brain's just not in a remembering kind of way today.

The reason number one, why I love midwifery is that I get to educate people and that is my favorite thing to do.

I've always loved to help inform people and inform myself already.

Like I love to learn things.

I feel like I love sharing what I've learned with other people.

To me that's really powerful and I've always kind of been that person, like I will tell people, which may sound really weird, like I guess people will see it as an insult, like people that can't do something, teach.

I am that person.

I would teach away and I can teach you to be greater.

Okay.

I used to teach gymnastics and I have this fear of going backwards.

I won't say it's totally irrational, but no, it's actually totally valid.

Okay, I can't see what's happening.

But I could teach you how to do a backhand spring.

Theoretically, I can actually do a back handspring theoretically.

If someone's hand's there, I could do it, but I can't do it because of my fear gets in the way.

But I can teach you how to do a back handspring and you can do it afterwards.

I've done it before.

But yeah, so I just love to educate people. When people are like, "Oh, but you haven't given birth or you haven't done this or you haven't done that." I'm like, "Yeah, but I have the knowledge to be able to help you to do it."

And that's something that I love being able to like just share that knowledge because what's the point having all this knowledge and keeping it to yourself?

It's so selfish, I know.

I want to share it with the world and with everyone I come in contact with, so I do.

And people haven't really had the conversations about pregnancy, labor, birth and afterwards.

So yeah, that's one of the reasons why I love midwifery.

2) 3.35 mins - Learning from the women I look after

Thing number two is the reversal.

So I love learning things and so I love it when I get to learn from the women I look after or their partners. It's so enjoyable to me. I love it.

It could be about pregnancy, labor and birth or afterwards or just like small children.

But usually it's like about their lives and their jobs and things that they've learned in their lives or things that they've learned on the job, like me, I have had so much info just downloaded into me.

I am a sponge.

That is always the thing I [inaudible 00:04:08] I always say to myself, "Your brain's a sponge, absorb everything."

And then when it's an exam I'm like, "Okay, now it's time to squeeze that sponge and get all that knowledge out."

That's what I think.

But yeah, so I'm like absorb everything when it comes to what I get to learn from people.

I've made so many life decisions based on what women have told me.

It's crazy, but I love it.

That's what I love about midwifery, it's like you get to be around women and it's not competitive.

I really want to say a bad word, but I don't think I can.

It's not catty.

It may be cliquey in the workplace, but I won't be in that business.

So it's just nice to be around women and just to learn and to teach.

And it's just really fun and it's really cool. It's really chill.

So I love that about midwifery.

3) 5.01 mins - Continuity of care

Number three is continuity of care/carer.

I love it, and when it happens, it's amazing, like seeing...

I think I'll always forever talk about this one experience I had in first year.

I was in community [inaudible 00:05:21] to be fair, generally in community.

When I was in first year I had a midwife who made it a point to schedule her women when she knew she was working so that then she would have that continuity.

I love that and like just seeing that rapport.

But my biggest experience, which was like ding, ding, ding, we have a winner, that's what I want. I want to be like her.

There was this home birth midwife and my mentor had been called on an [inaudible 00:05:48].

So we went out and this midwife was awesome.

She was so sweet to me. I'd never met her before.

She was like, "Oh you're a student nurse. It's fine, don't worry."

And like the husband and wife were like, "Yeah, it's fine. That's really cool."

And this midwife made sure I could see what was going on.

She would describe things to me, explain things to me.

And what I loved is that she knew the cat's name, she knew the names of the other two children because she had delivered them.

She knew the husband's brother's name.

She was almost a part of the family because she had looked after the woman in her other two pregnancies and labor and births and now for this one.

And it was just so beautiful.

I loved it.

Just having that familiarity about them and that's what I want.

So yeah, continuity of carer when it works out, it's amazing.

4) 6.41 mins - The look on dads' faces

Number four, reason number four, I love midwifery is that look on dad's face when mom's giving birth.

It's the best look.

When they see baby or I guess, wife's face, I've never... I actually don't think I've looked after a same sex couple, which is why I'm saying dad's face.

But I guess the moment I do, it's going to be the exact same thing.

That's a lie. I have looked after a same sex couple antenatally actually.

But anyway, but not during labor and delivery.

So I guess when it happens, it'll be the same thing, like when I look at that partner's face.

But when I look at dad's face, once he sees what his wife's done or his girlfriend's done, I'm like, it's my favorite thing.

It makes me so happy. It gives me hope.

They look at this child and they're like, "Damn, I'm a dad."

And then they're like, "Oh my gosh, this woman just did this. And that's crazy." It's this whole realization that happens on their face.

They're like, oh and like huh, and they look at their partner, they're like, damn. It's so many different facials you got, it's the best.

And it always makes me almost cry/cry. Yeah. Yeah. When you see it, you're going to know what I'm talking about. It's admiration.

I think it's unfiltered admiration. That's what it is. That is what it is. It's unfiltered admiration and sometimes love.

It's amazing. It's amazing.

It's the best thing, because it literally just gives you hope for the future. I don't know why, but yeah, it's so cool.

5) 8.16 mins - Empowering women

Number five.

I guess number five actually kind of rolls into number one, but my fifth favorite thing about midwifery is actually getting to empower women.

I guess it leads into number one because teaching them should empower them as well, but getting to empower women and just being like, "Hey, your body's amazing, right? And look what your body has done or is doing," and just that whole, you are amazing, your body's amazing. What you're doing is amazing, you can do this, you've got this.

I just love repeating those things with people because I feel like you don't know their situation, you don't know how they grew up, you don't know what's in their head.

So being able to be a person, an outside objective person and just telling this person, what you're doing is amazing and what your body is doing is amazing and you just need to trust in yourself and trust in your body.

I feel like it's a good thing and it could be an impactful thing, because if someone has gone through trauma or has been bullied or has these thoughts in their head of like, oh, I can't do this or my body's disgusting or anything along those lines basically of negativity towards themselves with their body or what they are capable of doing, I love being able to be like, "Actually girl, your body's amazing, you are amazing, you've got this, we're going to do this. I own this. You're going to have a baby."

This is how it is because I feel like everybody just needs a cheerleader. Everybody needs someone to love on them and bring positivity and good energy and good vibes.

Yeah. I just do that.

I go to my best friend or I've realized the other day actually, I do it to one of my best friends all the time, and I was like, to one of my best friends, I was like, "By the way, I just want to take a minute out of this conversation just to let you know..."

Like, I said her whole name. I got it correct, because sometimes I always get the order of her two middle names wrong or I spell them wrong, but no, I got it correct.

Anyway, I literally took my time out till I was like, "Listen, I just want to let you know you're amazing. The amount of strength you've shown over the last couple of years is crazy. I don't know how you do it. I just want to let you, I pray for you, but I always tell people this girl is amazing. She is so smart. It's this crazy..."

I literally went in on just tell her everything that I admire about her because I felt like I don't actually do that to her, which is so weird, because I tell everyone about her, but I just don't tell her and like I make it a point to tell my other best friends. It's like, "No, I need to make it a point to tell you," because I feel like people just need that boost sometimes.

They just need that, you've got this, you're amazing, let's do this kind of mentality.

And so I just want to be that women support in noble women, I guess.

I want to be your cheerleader and that's why I love that I get to do.

Anyway, I hope you guys have enjoyed this video and until next time, keep on being you. Read more about salary guide for midwife.