Blood and guts!?!

Hi all!

Am feeling more and more certain that midwifery is what I want to do, after a lot of soul searching and thinking and am very excited about it!

The only thing that worries me is that I can be pretty squeamish! I can deal with blood ok, and have no problem with needles etc, but the thought of cutting and stuff to do with veins (like putting a drip in) makes my toes curl! I don't know how I would be in a c section either, especially as I have had two myself and was a bit freaked out by it then!

Does anyone else have this concern? Is it something you get "hardened" to? Or does it mean I am too much of a wimp for this!!??

Thanks!
x x x

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

I think when you see it all in context, it isn't that bad. Yes, sometimes it can be a bit gory but it's also very normal. Our student group had two big things we were terrified of - vaginal examinations, and taking blood. Both of these things start to become so normal its unbelievable - I regularly offer (with no prompting!) to take blood, and am getting more confident with VEs as well. I hope that you'll have the same experience and that the reality will be far less scary than what's building up in your head!

This thread started by Goosy was quite a good one:

1st birth - pass out?

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Hi Bunny, oh yes VEs sound scary too, I would be so scared to do it wrong and hurt someone! But I guess you must get to watch a lot of them being done first before they let you do it?
x x x

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

You'd think so, wouldn't you? My mentor persuaded me to do my first one on my first day!

It was a lady who had an epidural, so the perfect opportunity for learning without hurting!

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Wow, scary! But sometimes it is good to jump in the deep end I guess!
Thanks for putting my mind at rest, have read through the link you gave as well
x x x

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

The blood and fluids don't bother me at all, but then I worked in an abbatoir prior to being a midwife hehe so a little odd really eh? You do get used to it, and tend to see things as something else, difficult to explain really, but its as if its not blood/open abdomen/vagina etc.. Its just your mission/interest in all things midwifery that makes it all normal (well thats how it is for me anyway!) The blood loss-yes its blood, but its an expected bleed, not like an open oozing wound-thats totally different and far more scary as its unexpected if you see what I mean. At section, I'm too interested in trying to work out the muscle layers and fascinated that they can cut an abdomen and there be hardly any blood-still fascinates me does that one!! So its more of a nosiness to see the baby and what sex it is etc.. what position its lying in for me, I don't really see the other stuff.
Now does any of that make sense to you? lol

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Forum Buddy


Have you just been offered a place? If so and you want a mentor please post in post this forum (also post here if you would like a mentee)

Hi Tracy, yes that makes sense, and I can imagine that you must be so concerned and fixed on doing the job well that the other stuff must be secondary. I hope I will be that way too. I guess after when you stop and think about it, it probably seems worse then! My family has said, "how can you think of midwifery, you can't even watch a scary film!" but that is because I don't like the way it tries to horrify you and make you jump and scared! Like you said, with midwifery you kinda know its coming!!
I can be a little bit squeamish with blood and guts, but I hope I will cope ok in an actual situation. My friend got her fingers trapped very badly in a door once and there was a lot of blood, I think the tips of her fingers were nearly severed! I grabbed her wrist and ran her to the tap before I had even thought about the blood. It was pretty yucky though!!
x x x

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

See? Calm under pressure - a perfect attribute for a midwife!

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Im actually fine with blood, guts and all manner of bodily fluids however my friend thought she was until coming face to face with it! She has passed out twice and been sick once!! Unfortunately it is one of those things that you dont really every know how youll feel until you experience it. I think its like everything-you have to have a positive attitude and know that you have to deal with it!

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Student Midwife, year one and counting.

The only thing that makes me feel a bit iffy is the thought of performing an Episiotomy. I've seen them done on youtube and find it really difficult to watch (nothing else I'm that bothered about). Maybe because everything else seems natural but this doesn't?

Has anyone else felt like this?

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