One Mother, One Midwife

Hi All,

I've been reading about the One Mother, One Midwife campaign and wondered what others thought anout the proposal?

Think it would be interesting to hear others views and opinions. I personally think it is a good idea. This quote personally caught my eye

"Under the current structure of maternity services women have no option at all in choosing their midwife. The vast majority of women receive care from many different midwives throughout their pregnancy, labour and after their baby is born, most of whom they have never met before. Women would therefore be empowered by having choice over their midwife"

http://www.onemotheronemidwife.org.uk/index.html

Would love to hear off you all

I think it's a good idea in principle, but not sure how easy it would be to implement. There are a lot of factors that need to be taken into account; staff numbers, practicalities etc.

From a personal point of view, it was really nice having the same community midwife throughout my pregnancy and afterwards, but with regards to the actual labour I really wouldn't have given a stuff if it had been a trained chimp that delivered the baby - I just wanted it out!!

__________________
Student Midwife Greenwich May 2009!! Hooray!!
The great thing about being a pessimist is that you're never disappointed.....

PMSL the mental images here, but I do agree with you. I have had four pregnancies and have NEVER seen a mw for more than one appointment, bare in mind I am high risk and you will know just how many mw's I have seen. But like scally wag said I didnt mind who delivered my babies, kinda like I thought I wouldnt want a man down there but when it came to it I was so desperate to be examined my legs were spread at the first mention

Hi Tasha,
Wouldn't you of liked to have the same midwife who knew your history, fears and anxieties. Did it annoy you slightly to have to repeat your history to each different Midwife?
LOL@ just wanting it out lol kinda know what you mean there lol. But with my midwife she allowed me to go into my body and kind of enjoy the experience and I would love others to experience this.

With the one mother one midwife campaign there would still be the current midwife practise but its just giving women the extra oportunity to choose a midwife they feel comfortable with if they so wish.

Very interesting discussing though guys!! I love to hear everyones views lol
carla

This is a good idea in principle, but the government will need to provide the funding for the extra midwives that will be needed to make this a reality.

__________________
Midwifemissy x

Student Midwife 2007
Student uni rep
Educational Resources Manager

PAB Support Worker

Putting aside all the practicalities! I had the same midwife for all of my pregnancy with Jack and she volunteered to come into the birth as well, it was fantastic!
x x x

__________________
Decided to postpone my application to 2010 for Beds and ARU x x x

Yeh, I'm not quite sure how this is work but on the site the benefits mention that there will be a reduction in cost of maternity services, so I guess they've worked out the logistics but i'm not sure either lol!!

I think though with all the benefits mentioned on the site, even if there was a rise in costs that they would be worth it.

Hi Carla,

Yes I would of loved that, I spent every appointment I had going over my history. It literally use to take the whole appointment, and was particularly heart breaking going over Honey story again and again. But tbh I live in London and I really dont see us ever getting to the stage of one mother, one midwife, well not whilst there is an nhs.

I have just visited the "one mother one midwife" website and have with great interest read through the information concerning this campaign. This proposed new "midwifery model" reminded me of the midwifery care provided in a German hospital, where I did my working experience on a maternity ward. Expectant women can choose their favourite midwife, who then takes care of them throughout their pregnancy, is present during the childbearing process and does the postnatal examinations. Although I haven`t been pregnant myself and can`t comment on my personal experiences, I was able to draw conclusions on the suitability and efficiency of this midwifery model from talking to both mothers and midwives. I can say that I was very impressed. Both mothers and mums-to-be loved this midwifery care. They felt like their pregnancy and birthing experiences had benefited greatly from it, as they had been able to build up a trusting relationship to one single contact person. As for the midwives they absolutely prefered this midwifery model. They felt like they were able to provide better maternity care, as they were able to take the woman`s individual needs and wishes into consideration.
From the experiences I made during my working experince on two maternity wards that offered this midwifery care for woman, I can say that I hope the "one mother one midwife campaign" will be succesfull, as I think many benefits would arise from it.

__________________

Hi Helen,
I agree completely How fab to have the opportunity to gain experience in this. What I think is good about the proposal is that the midwifery service will still be running as normal but just giving woman the freedom of choice. Its like incorporating independent midwifery into the NHS.

I do wonder though as at present for homebirths you have 2 midwifes for the birth and I think this should still be the case for "onemotheronemidwife" for the birth too. I'm not sure if this would be the case, any idea guys?