I am an American citizen although my accent is a little
British as well
as American. In 1974, I moved to England and married a British
"subject".
As a child, I had a fascination for pregnancy and
childbirth but knew I never wanted to be a doctor. I loved chemistry
and biology in school but could think of no profession I wanted where
these could be used. Then in my first year in Britain I met a midwife
and realized that midwifery was the only career for me. The training
came many years later.
I had my 3 children in hospital and was
cared for by midwives. The midwife who was in charge of my care with my
first labor was so cold and unfriendly that i was determined to be a
better sort of midwife. My philosophy regarding midwifery is one of
care, friendship, understanding, honesty, education and co-operation. I
feel that a close rapport with my clients can help bring about a good
outcome for both sides.
In 1991 I commenced training as a midwife
and began practicing in Ipswich Hospital immediately on completion of
my training. During my training and employment I was present at
hundreds of births, However, I personally took care of over 120 normal
labors and deliveries and assisted at hundreds more. Daily I cared for
pre-natal and post-natal mothers while looking after 1-2 laboring
women. I was often required to teach medical students and some
qualified doctors to perform normal deliveries. I taught all midwifery
skills to student midwives. In my final year there I was required to be
Midwife-In-Charge with all the responsibilities that called for.
I
also worked in Neonatal Intensive Care for six months in order to
acquire additional experience. This enabled me to build on my
confidence in the care of the new-born. I worked with premature and
sick babies with a variety of infections and conditions. This gave me a
much greater understanding of the 'normal baby' and the 'sick baby'.
In
March 1997, I moved back to Texas with my British family to be near my
American family who I have been away from for 23 years. I contacted one
of Texas' busiest midwives on arrival and she allowed me to follow her
practice in order to 'learn the ropes' in a private midwifery practice
in Texas. She was good enough to allow me to practice through her in
order to gain the home birth experience I needed to become documented in
the sate of Texas.
Since observing and participating in
midwifery care here in Texas, I have witnessed that the out-of-hospital
environment is by far superior for the course of a normal pregnancy and
labor. In fact for the family unit as a whole out-of-hospital birth is
much superior. Having been on 'both sides of the fence', I am now
totally committed to the out-of-hospital, midwifery led care for normal
pregnancies, deliveries, and the postpartum period.
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