What I LOVE about being a Midwife

Earlier this year, Eden Doran, a year 11 Student from Tomaree High School interviewed Karen McClay about what it takes to be a midwife today.

What inspired to you to become a midwife and what keeps you motivated in the role today?

My father, who was a midwife for over 30yrs, inspired me to become a midwife, though it wasn’t until I had my own babies that I realised how important, and essential, our work is.

It is the women and their families that keep me motivated to continue what I am doing. Birth may be a moment in our life as women and parents, but it is a monumental moment and sets the scene for their family’s emotional wellbeing long term.

How would you describe the most rewarding aspects of being a midwife?

The most rewarding part of being a midwife is having the privilege to be able to walk with women and their families during the most important time in their life.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face in your day-to-day work?

Walking the line between woman-centred, evidence- based care and the ‘machine’ that is our current maternity system.

How do you support women and families emotionally throughout pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period?

By meeting them where they are at, providing them with information for them to make informed decisions about what they want for their experience. Most of all, it’s about building rapport and trust and creating an environment where the woman feels safe.

What skills or qualities do you think are essential for someone to succeed as a midwife?

• A strong belief in birth and the power of women
• Knowing when to sit on your hands and let birth unfold and when to step in. A comprehensive understanding and strong respect for the importance of physiological birth and being able to recognise when birth deviates from this and having the clinical skills to help.
• Empathy and compassion and being able to meet women where they are at and support them in what they feel is the best birth for them.
• Staying abreast of current research and evidence to be able to practice women-centred, evidence-based care.

Can you walk me through what a ‘typical shift’ looks like for you, or is there no thing as a “typical” day?

There is no such thing as a typical day, which is why I love what I do. Every day is different and every woman teaches you something new.

How do you handle high pressure or emergency situations during labour and birth?

By staying calm, communicating and having the clinical skills to know automatically what to do.

What changes have you seen in maternity care over the years, and how have they affected your work?

I have seen maternity care lose site of the importance of physiological birth for healthy women and babies, becoming over-medicalised and risk adverse. This, combined with a population that is becoming unhealthier, has resulted in high intervention rates and higher rates of birth trauma. As a midwife, is it a constant tug-of-war between normalising birth and working within system guidelines and policies and keeping women safe.

How do you balance the clinical side of the job with the more relationship-based aspects of midwifery?

This can be very hard when your shift is busy. Ideally, we would have one midwife to one woman, but this is not always realistic. We have a maternity care system that is overstretched and understaffed. It’s about reminding yourself that even though as a midwife we are at birth all the time, this is a monumental moment in the women and family’s life and our role is to help make it as positive an experience as possible.

It’s important to see the woman as an individual and tailor her care and support based on what is best for her and her baby. Evidence based care is not only following the current research but being able to critically think and understand where the woman fits within the context of that research picture and what her own ‘risk’ profile and wishes may be.

What advice would you give to someone considering a career in midwifery?

It is an amazing career path where you are constantly learning. Like anything worthwhile doing, it has its challenges particularly  finding the balance between our midwifery philosophy and practice, and working within our current maternity system. Be sure to never lose site of the power of women and the importance of their experience of birth as it lays the foundation for them to step into motherhood.