A change of direction

This week I will discharge my one and only client. I have taken the decision to step back from Independent midwifery for a while and not to take on any new clients (although the bond I have with my past clients means I would happily take them on if they fell pregnant again and asked me to care for them!). It has taken me a long time to come to this decision because I love independent midwifery so much, the relationships I have with clients are very special. They invite me into their homes, give me tea and pour out their hearts, then we wait for the baby, I get so excited if my phone rings in the middle of the night (which is usually when labour starts), and head out on an adventure to meet the baby that we have all been waiting for. Some labours are straight forward and go to plan and some veer off course and we need to go to hospital, but no matter what happens I am there for my client giving them space to make the decisions that helps them stay in control of the situation. Most women say that this control is the most important thing that determines how they feel about their labour. Things were explained and they had the chance to make the right decision for them, even if that was only 2 minutes to talk things over or hours to go through all the options. The time to support a woman to make an informed choice is one of the luxuries that I have working outside of the NHS.

There are many wonderful midwives within the NHS who are incredibly supportive of womens choice however NHS midwives are often restricted by time and resources. In many areas antenatal appointments are reduced, especially for women in their second or subsequent pregnancy. Antenatal classes have been cut back and number of women in each session increasing. This means that women and their partners are not getting the chance to consider their options for labour and birth and the early days with baby. This is the reason that I have decided to concentrate on running informative antenatal classes which are designed for small groups to explore all the area of pregnancy, birth and early days with baby.