Jodie Miller wrote: " I honestly don't think many birthing women really know what midwives can do for them. "
Hi all (Yeah, I'm still around), I absolutely agree with Jodie's statement. Before I birthed my fourth babe I was always of the understanding that to be in the very best of care meant that you had to be looked after by an obstetrician. Anything less was inferior care or not ideal. To be looked after by a midwife, in the public system ie Midwive's Clinic suggested lower socio-economic status and desperation. This still appears to be the pervasive thinking among the many women that I know. My 4th babe was a 'public babe' as I was caught out between health insurances when I became pregnant. That whole pregnancy was spent at my local hospital's mw's clinic....or so it seemed. I would regularly wait for hours to be seen by a mw and then in turn by a stressed out RMO. And as I always had my three children under seven with me, I was consistently hypertensive. (suprise,suprise) It was so very easy to see the frustration that other women attending the clinic were feeling. And perhaps in a more sublte way, so too did I see the immense frustration of the midwives who tried to do their job under difficult circumstances. At the end of this horrible pregnancy came a difficult induction (at the hands of one incredibly arrogant ob) due to hypertension. HOWEVER, once that was over my labor was overseen by a very gentle and amazingly astute midwife. (Hi Nola!!) This was the first and only birth I have had without an ob present. It was by far the most peaceful, gentle, beautiful birth that I have experienced. My hypertension slipped away and was no longer problematic and I was treated with dignity. With my 5th pregnancy I was SO ready to be looked after by a mw. But the prospect of dealing with 'The Clinic' was so off-putting that I went private with an obstetrician. And while I wasn't hypertensive throughout my pregnancy and prenat. visits were hassle free, there still was a disatrous consequence to be paid later on during my unnecessary (?) cesarean section. Upon reflection: I wish that I had been given the option of a one-on-one mw service. I wish that I had known that this type of service existed. I wish that women could be better educated about the services available to them BEFORE they are pregnant. I wish that I had realised that when I hired an ob/gyn I was actually hiring a surgeon. I wish that midwifery as a whole could be widely promoted as a valid, obstetric profession, one to which vulnerable women can safely entrust their care. I also wish that there will soon be total reform in the Public Maternal Health system. Women should always be treated with dignity and be made to feel that they are more than just a pregnant chunk of flesh. If only I could have my time again......... Sonia W. PS. I hope that I haven't been too high-handed in posting this and that I haven't offended. -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
