Career Profile Midwife
According to theinternational confederation of midwives, a midwife is a person who has successfully completed midwifery education from a reputable and duly accredited institution. The person should also have the required qualifications to be registered and legally licensed to practice midwifery.
Simply put, a midwife is a professional who provides requisite care to childbearing women during pregnancy, labor and thepostpartum period. A midwife may be both a male or a female but the latter remain the majority. They operate in different settings and can be found in hospitals, at the community level or even at homes.
Unlikeobstetricianswho specialize in illness related to childbearing, midwives specialize in low-risk pregnancies although both professions are often complementary. In cases of a complication, midwives usually refer women to obstetricians and are involved in reproductive health counseling and educating patients in fertility, nutrition and basic exercises. The major difference between the two is the obstetricians’ ability to intervene surgically and deal with complications when they arise.
Some of the typical activities undertaken by midwives may include:
Monitoring the condition of the patient throughout the childbearing cycle.
Educating the patient through the delivery process.
Giving tips on how to care for a newborn by offering support on daily care. (This may include breast-feeding and bathing).
Midwives are especially skilled in using gravity to aid the process of labor and handling difficult deliveries like twin births and breech births. They also assist in deliveries where the baby is in a posterior position usingnon-invasive techniques. In unfortunate scenarios where there is amiscarriage,terminationorstillbirths, midwives offer unconditional support to their patients in order to carry them through the traumatic experience.
The practice of midwifery has gradually increased over the past few years owing to lower maternity costs, reduced mortality related to caesareans and non-invasive techniques employed by the practitioners. There are also women who opt to have a natural childbirth instead of relying on technology.
According toSoranus of Ephesus, a quintessential midwife should have a good memory, love their work and be respectable. They should also not be unduly handicapped with regard to their senses (touch, smell, sight etc.). Physical attributes may include having long slim fingers and short nails at their fingertips.
Often labeled the protectors of natural birth, midwives have been perceived as antagonists of medical technology. In contrast, they are trained to recognize cases of normal deviations and turn to technology for help, for example caesareans. Laboratory studies and ultrasounds form an integral part in their profession. All in all, recent studies show they remain a reliable and successful alternative for women and that can only be a positive factor in reproductive health.
