My passion for midwifery has grown with time. At 15 I made the decision to be a midwife and since have researched the role of a midwife.  I started studying health and social care as it is a subject that covers the care and communication aspect of being a health care professional. I have been able to complete volunteering roles and work experience to do with caring. I have seen the importance of a midwife and hope to also make a change. I understand midwifery isn’t so much focused on caring for the baby but caring for the mother during the pregnancy and supporting the family along the way. When my mother had a miscarriage it made me realise not all mothers get through the pregnancy period, this time was the worst. This made me more determined to help and support other women. This was such an emotional time for me and my family.

I have had the opportunity to be able to see a midwife prepare for child birth and work through a birth for a day; while I was there I learnt how the communication with the mother is very important to reassure her that she is in safe hands. It is not all about talking to the mother, but also listening to her needs, being able to show compassion through respect, honesty and dignity. It is also important to treat the mother with dignity and show respect as she deserves this at this time. It was such an emotional time for both the mother and the father; it motivated me to pursue being a midwife. I took the opportunity to ask why being a midwife was so important to them and what kind of journey they had to take to get to where they were. The mother must be able to trust you. This is very important, as you are with her through her pregnancy. This gave me a great insight into what midwives do to prepare for child birth and how much support the mother needs during this time.

I had the chance to do work experience with House of Care; this was working with the elderly and taking care of the client. I learnt how significant verbal communication is when working with a client. I was able to use some of the things I had learnt from health and social care and applied it to the clients, such as speaking loudly and clear. Also, I learnt that I had to show respect as they were elderly and they were sensitive. In a setting like this I learnt to use the 6c’s with the clients. The first was care towards the client, it was important in order to make the client feel safe, compassion also creates a relationship between you and the client as it is vital to show respect, dignity and empathy. You need to understand your client as it creates a connection; this is where the competence comes into the care setting. Communication is key in a care setting as you need to understand your client before making decisions that affect them and being able to listen to the client can be where the respect comes from. Caring for someone requires courage and commitment for the client to understand what you are trying to do and also commitment improves the care given. I believe everything that I learnt when completing this work experience I can use as a midwife. As it does require the 6c’s used.

Over 5 weeks I took on the responsibility of babysitting, the babysitting taught me how to deal with unexpected situations. When taking care of a baby I learnt you had to be alert in order to keep up with the needs of the baby, being present to oversee the baby is also vital. This role showed how much the parents trusted me. What I learnt from babysitting can also be applied to a pregnant woman as this is the time they are most fragile and need your support.

Furthermore, I have added to my experience by taking on a 50 hour placement in a nursery. This showed how organised I am, as I had to work around my timetable and sort out the work experience myself. Working at the nursery meant I had to be alert to different situations and find a way to handle the problem which I believe as a midwife I would need to apply such skills.