Connections to Midwifery Classes

As an apprentice midwife, the most important approach to teaching is the Midwifery Model of

Care. The continuity and good care of the pregnant woman is the main objective of our

profession. Much of our learning will be due to the relationship of apprentice-preceptor, and it is

extremely important to work to meet the expectations set by the preceptor. This equates the

mastery of not only physical but also psychological and even spiritual skills to be able to deal

with each client during their pregnancy process, during the birth event and then the postpartum.

The Midwifes Assistant Orientation Course has been a general but very effective way to get

started in all aspects of prenatal care, during childbirth and postpartum. One of the assignments

leads us to rethink our ideals as apprentices and the expectations that the preceptors may have

about our work. I found it very appropriate to review this task, because in order to achieve

effective care, we must consider many factors beyond the domain of advanced skills. As I said in

my paper, the experiences of others can be of great value to our learning, taking them as advice

that could pave our way to the goal. Making a list of the most relevant for me, I want to have a

guide to follow. Just as pregnancy and childbirth are normal processes of life, so the need for

support, respect and inclusion is something for which midwives must prepare. We become an

important part of the lives of the people involved in the process, in the case of such intimate

processes, and that requires empathy, overcome biases and promote other values that are only

learned through self-evaluation, introspection, and meditating on what adjustments we must do

on ourselves. Only then will we be able to control our emotions and be objective in the decision

making and the service that we will offer.

As Melissa Cheney is quoted in reading, "knowing that no birth is comparable to the one

where the entire well being of the mother and baby are our responsibility." Being primary
providers of health, we have great responsibility and need to be confident to offer the client with

the most appropriate service. They put their health and life in our hands and it is our duty to be

capable of so. I believe that this dependence is one of my greatest fears, but the much required

practice and the support of the preceptor will develop my self-confidence. Definitely, being able

to handle the skills at prenatal care and eventually during childbirth, especially if there is an

emergency. In all the births in which I have been present, there have been no complications of

any kind, which although ideal, is not always the reality. I think nobody is prepared for when it

happens the first time, but in the end it is essential to be.

I must say that in all my observed births I found it easy to put myself aside without allowing

my opinions to play any role. I think that we all happen to want to intervene in the decisions that

we know are not necessarily the best, but it was easy to handle. To recognize that my position as

a doula is only of company and service, to deal with fatigue, to listen in silence, to be supportive,

patient, to be willing, to follow my instinct, to maintain confidentiality... are essential skills that

cultivate humility, so necessary for receptivity during the learning process.

"Being aware of the emotional level of each event" (Kimmons, E., as cited in Singingtree, D.,

2004) is something I must learn to manage so that it does not affect myself. I have felt even in

my heart the indifference of the comments, the violent treatment during the protocols of the

hospital environment, which is sometimes taken in the most natural way by the woman in

childbirth, I could feel how it affected me physically. I need to work more with making these

events less personal and not allowing myself to be affected by the decisions that others make

about themselves.

Even so, having accompanied some of these women in their gestation process, a little as

counselors, giving support and providing education, I have been able to practice the idea of
partnership that should be given eventually between client and midwife. Values are also skills

that must be practiced during the trajectory as an apprentice, and a complement to the practical

skills. All together will give me the tools to be better and more capable, so I can become the

guardian of the process that every pregnant expects when I am eventually hired as their provider.