Reflections of a Midwife Part Two

It’s now 1992 and I chose to go to Heartlands a brand new hospital as Sorrento was closed  and I hated it here at first too....a theme is developing I think! It was a far cry from Sorrento. All the midwives and auxiliary nurses knew each other from Marston Green and only four of us had come over from Sorrento,the rest had gone to Birmingham Maternity or BMH.

I worked on the antenatal and postnatal wards to begin with and did settle ….. but I was keen to progress and got my first “Junior Sister” position on Community after a couple of years and I loved it.  Community Midwifery was at its best at this time!

We all had our own clinics and saw our own ladies antenatally and then postnatally where we visited them EVERY SINGLE DAY for 10 days then day 14 / 21 and 28 when the Health Visitor took over. We even visited moms in the afternoon the day they came home from hospital …..how times have changed hey.

We did a lot of home births and we were constantly called out to “crying babies “ when we were on call in the middle of the night and parents were having a meltdown  I always used to bath them to calm them down....the babies that is…….not the parents!

We carried Entonox and Oxygen cylinders loose in the boots of our cars and also carried pethedine for the home births. We regularly popped into ex patients houses if we were passing and knew they had a clean toilet.

We had lunch breaks and used to sometimes meet for a coffee in Asda in Small Heath

We had a uniform allowance and at one point were allowed to wear “mufti” (our own clothes) as long as it was navy and white.

After a couple more years I wanted more and after applying I got a “Senior Sister” position that was a combined post …….six months community and six months delivery suite each year ……… I was soooo happy believing I had “made it” If only I knew then what I know now …….. and that is simply this …….the longer you are a midwife …..the less you realise you know.  Nature is at its most complex when it’s reproducing and midwifery will ALWAYS make you humble if you get too cocky and will definitely bring you down a peg or three.