What does being a hospital based midwife involve?
I work in a unit with approx 3500 deliveres a year. I work mainly on the antenatal and postnatal ward,and do a minimum of 1 shift a week on labour ward and 1 shift every month in Antenatal Clinic.

How long after qualification did you become a hospital based midwife and did you work in any other areas of midwifery previously?
I qualified in August 2005 and began my job in September 2005.

How does the role of a hospital midwife differ from those working in the community, a birth centre or within an independent practice?
We see more high risk women, and compared to Independent Practice, we obvisously have our own policies and protocols we have to stick to.Also work shifts, and i never work on call.

Whats are your personal circumstances?
i.e. married/kids/single etc
Just got a boyfriend of a few months :o)

What did you do before you became a hospital based midwife?
I went straight through school, did my A levels and straight to uni. I've wanted to be a midwife since i was about 12 so i knew which path to take and how to acheive it.I was a saturday girl in Wilkos while i was at school,and also did some voluntary work at the local hospital's Bereavement Centre which was fun and got me lots of experience of working in a hospital environment.

Why did you choose Midwifery?
As i've already said, i wanted to be a midwife since i was about 12. I don't really know-none of my family are medical or work in nursing or anything like that, i remember watching a video of a baby being born when i was at school and by the end i was the only person in the class still watching, i thought it was amazing.

How did you feel on your first day in practice, after qualifying?
**** Scared! Especially as i moved trusts from the one i trained in.

Please share a highlight of being a hospital based midwife, so far...
Most of it. Seeing women who i cared for during their last pregnancy is pretty cool, you know you didn't put them off for life!!!!

Please share a low point and how you got through that...
Major Obstetric Haemmorhhage scares me, and i had a horrendous shoulder dystocia. I don't really know how i get through it,most of the time i just go home, have a cry and go back the next day.

What is your favourite midwifery text book?
After the above- Emergencies around childbirth!!

What is your favourite midwifery literature book? i.e. babycatcher.
Babycatcher!

What is your shift preference? earlies/lates/long days and what time to they start and finish
I don't mind. But our shifts are Early- 0700-1500
Late- 1330-2130
Night-2110-0730

Are you a member of a midwifery organisation? i.e RCM/ARM/LLL
RCM

Do you feel supported by your supervisor of midwives? if yes/no please tell us why that is.
Yes very. I had to write a statement about a case i was involved in not long after i qualified. She was very supportive and helped me through it.

How do you keep up to date with evidence based practice and how easy do you find it to implement this into your care whilst working within the constraints of local protocols?
I read a lot,subscribe to a couple of journals. Also just talking with other members of staff helps.Sometimes the protocols get in the way,although hopefully there will be big change with the new NICE guidlines on their way...

What are your future plans as a midwife?
At the moment i'm very happy as i am. I want to do my mentoring course so i can properly teach students,which is something i enjoy, but hope one day i'll become more involved in the mental health side of things as its something i've always been interested in.

Share your wisdom.... what would you like to pass on to other students/wanabes?
The other two who answered before me said the same-don't be afraid to ask.

Describe your ‘day in the life’ of a hospital based midwife
Differs every single day. One thing thats always the same is that you don't get your proper breaks.... :o)