[𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟐] 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬⁣

𝟐𝟏 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐲

[𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟐] 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬⁣
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One thing that midwifery has given me is an appreciation of age. My partner is a software engineer and often comments that he doesn’t know where all the people over 50 are. We don’t have that problem in midwifery, as many of our most skilled staff are in the white/gray hair bracket. They are often the most respected and useful people on shift. For them, though there are enough challenges and surprises to be going on with, midwifery must look different. ⁣
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When working on my latest book, I interviewed a midwife called May-Yen Flynn, who has worked on the labour ward for many years. (She's actually quite young, she just trained early). As part of my book research, I reviewed a piece of her writing, and in it, she mentioned she wears a Fitbit to monitor her heart rate on shift. She wrote about a time she was conducting a birth when she looked down at her Fitbit to get the times for her documentation later and noted that suspended in that transitional moment, her heart was beating at a similar rate as when she is asleep. This is what we should aim for. For our skills to be so good and our role so familiar that much of the time, our nervous system is not overstimulated.⁣
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Of course, a lot of this is out of our hands. If you’re so busy you can barely function, or there is bullying at work or funding keeps being removed, we will always be rushing to keep up. But what midwifery should be like is slipping into a familiar world, with disappointments and shocks and devastation on occasion, but our time there should also be soothing because we know our work so well. Think about a skill you’re comfortable with. Venepuncture, for example. Or something in your personal life that you’re good at. Imagine you’re doing that for most of a shift. You’re pleased because you can perform this essential skill with clients, and you probably know what to say and do if they are nervous. ⁣
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You might feel like you're drowning right now. But I don’t think we tell students and newly qualified midwives about this stuff enough: things do get better. I do not believe in staying at midwifery at any cost, and no judgement from me if you take a break or even leave the profession. But if you hang on, I promise it feels differently down the line. ⁣
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Also, I just want to point out that I think white/grey hair looks chic. I assume this is because of midwifery. I can’t wait to get some greys. Perk of the job. ⁣
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