Being a Midwife

Being a Midwife is a balancing act between the medical model and protecting the natural physiology, between advocacy and safety and between knowledge and intuition. It is a holistic practice and has so many junctures.

Having a skilled, knowledgeable and holistic midwife present at your birth is the gold standard for maternity care and the research and evidence supports this in bucket loads!

Whether that be a woman birthing alone with their Midwife, with a partner or doula and the Midwife just quietly present somewhere nearby, it is the most beautiful and incredible place to be. I feel so privileged and in awe every single time.

As Midwives we have a unique perspective in the birth space. We have the perspective of balancing knowledge of "normal" physiology with the knowledge of deviations from "normal" physiology. Knowing when everything is going well and when it is not and knowing what we need to do to and being able to act upon it, either to gently alter the trajectory and return it to its physiological path or act more acutely to for a safe and positive outcome. The nuance and subtlety of shifts in atmosphere, sounds, physical appearance and even changes on the skin or birth progress or just an instinctive shift in ourselves can only be observed and recognised by the Midwife. Having those skills and getting it right is imperative for a safe birth for both mother and baby and is unique only to a Midwife. It is an incredibly complex role as well as being the most simple, natural and instinctive one.

For almost 20 years I have been emersed in this incredible, privileged profession and have seen so much of human nature in its most vulnerable and most beautiful state and I have never and will never take it for granted.