Farida: the inspirations, challenges and victories of a student midwife
To mark International Day of the Midwife, student midwife Farida Al-Ismaily writes about her experiences so far, including her inspirations, challenges, victories and what it was like working during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Firstly, I would like to highlight and honour the first midwife who encouraged and inspired me to pursue Midwifery, my mother, Rahma. She was a practising midwife in Tanzania for 10 years before we moved to this country. It is both fascinating and impressive to see how much midwifery practice has developed throughout the years.
I remember hearing all the intriguing stories of my mother’s midwifery training and it captivated me, sparking my interest in the role of a midwife. Besides assisting women and their families through the unparalleled journey of conception to birth, my mother learned how to assist animals to deliver their young and told me it is a skill that she cultivated during her training period. Some abilities you develop as a midwife can be applied in other areas too.
Things I learned from my mother, a midwife
She taught me about the alternative ways midwives would cut the umbilical cords when they were short on sterile medical instruments. For example, using a lit candle to slowly burn off the exposed umbilical cord in between the secured fetal and placental ends. The placenta would then be buried in the mothers back yards as it was believed it brought an abundance of goodness and blessings into their lives.
We discussed the challenges, her various first-time experiences and the many unfortunate circumstances that could have been avoided had there been adequate medical supplies and qualified staff, which we are now fortunate to have.
From then I established that midwifery isn’t just a rewarding career. It’s not just about delivering babies and supporting mothers and families, it’s a unique career that embodies a dedicated, committed, and passionate individual that exhibits the many strong qualities of a midwife. A midwife must be intelligent, compassionate, patient, kind, understanding, caring, competent, encouraging, empathetic and much more.
Just like pieces to a puzzle, there were several other experiences and encounters that compelled me towards midwifery. My fondness of working with women and children began early on. During the biology module in my GCSE Child Development, I was fascinated with embryology and the development of the fetus. Similarly, amid my Bachelors degree in Biomedical Science, a lecture on Rhesus factor incompatibility and Haemolytic Diseases of the Fetus and Newborn (HDFN) captured my attention. Eventually, caring for and assisting my aunty during her labour with my cousin was an experience that pushed me to take that leap into taking my second Bachelors in Midwifery.
Every day is different
There are many factors that I love about my job. I love that a midwife is autonomous. I love that every day is different and each day a different learning opportunities arises. I get to meet and build a rapport with so many different people from different walks of life, develop a trusting relationship, and learn from them and their experiences. I love that I get to be involved in such an anticipated and special time of a woman’s life.
Although we can all agree that the Covid-19 pandemic was an unprecedented and stressful period, I cannot overlook some of the positives that came out of it. The partnership of friendship and trust between my colleagues and team strengthened. The pandemic reminded us all that life is short and teamwork got us through.
The pandemic also taught us better ways to interact and support mothers and their families as most of them had to endure much of their time in hospital without their birth partners. This experience emphasised the many important values of a midwife and the positive influence they have on clients.
Adapting and evolving
I am hard of hearing, so the communication barrier that comes with wearing PPE and relying on lip reading was one of the challenges I faced. Although I already knew the significance of communication, I developed different ways of communicating more efficiently. I now wear a badge highlighting that I am hard of hearing and have become more confident to convey my condition to the clients and to the people I work with.
As a student midwife, I have adapted to learning in small groups. I believe this experience has boosted my learning as not only does it give more room for flexibility, but it also allows me to be more open and personal and it provides more opportunities for feedback and advice. The one-to-one and four-to-one groups have also helped strengthened my confidence in the way I practise midwifery, and this is something I’ll take forward in my career.
My favourite aspect about midwifery is the feeling I get when a mother is discharged from our care - not only feeling content with the care but also confident and positive about their journey into parenthood.
One of the most rewarding careers
Becoming a midwife is one of the most rewarding careers ever. It may be overwhelming at first but work through the fear and go for it. There’s countless support around and you’re never alone. There’s always a demand for midwives and you may just be the asset we need.