Trust Your Gut | Life of a Midwife Ep. 5

0:00Midwife Pip: Hi, it's Paige from Giggly Squad, and this episode is sponsored by Experian Boost. Summer glow up? Check. Credit glow up? Even better. Boost your credit scores instantly by getting credit for bills you're already paying. Your phone, utilities, rent, and insurance. I wish dating kind of worked like that. Connect your bank account, add those on-time payments to your Experian credit file, and your FICO score updates right away. You could instantly raise your FICO score by an average of 14 points with Experian Boost. Download the Experian app for free today. Results will vary. Users who received a boost improved their FICO score 8 from Experian by an average of 14 points.

0:39Midwife Pip: See App Store or Experian.com for details. Results will vary. Not all payments are boost eligible. Users who received a boost improved their FICO score 8 from Experian by an average of 14 points. Some may not see improved scores or approval odds. Not all lenders use Experian credit files, and not all lenders use scores impacted by Experian See Experian.com for details.

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2:12Unknown Midwife: We've all felt it, that sudden shift, a quiet pull towards something, or a whisper that this isn't right. We call it instinct. For midwives, learning to trust it can change everything. In this episode, we hear from Pip, whose journey into midwifery began with a feeling long before she ever wore the uniform. And Natasha, who 12 years into her career, has learned of the huge power that comes with trusting her gut. I'm Javanna Fletcher and from Happy Mum, this is Life of a Midwife Natasha was a junior midwife when a sudden gut instinct pushed her to check on a patient an action that would leave a lasting mark on her career you always have certain women and certain families that imprint on you and that i think will just stay with me forever i was a very junior midwife and this birth had gone beautifully it was her third baby i'll call her susan it was just wonderful

3:32Unknown Midwife: She'd sent her husband home to look after the other kids, you know, she didn't need him, off you go. And she'd had a shower, she'd had the famous NHS tea and toast, we were just getting ready to take her down to Labour Ward. The shift was about to change.

3:53Unknown Midwife: I wasn't the highest achiever on my degree, I'm not the most intelligent or knowledgeable health professional out there. I know that. But I trust my gut. If my gut is telling me that something is wrong, something is wrong. We were stood at the desk and I just had this overwhelming feeling to just go and check on her. I can't explain why. I do not know. To this day, I'm like, I don't know why I felt like that, but I did. Her room was at the very end of the corridor and I can picture it now, like, in my mind's eye. And I went down and I opened the door and she was sat bolt upright, just staring at the wall opposite her.

4:38Unknown Midwife: And I was going, Susan, Susan. And then, literally within two seconds, she started having a major seizure. So I pulled the emergency buzzer and then, you know, a fantastic team of six, seven medics came in. we had the anaesthetist, the emergency trolley and this situation was dealt with so well, so efficiently really like clockwork as if we do this, you know, 30 times a day sort of thing After that moment when you kind of all sit down she's well, thank goodness, you know, we dealt with that situation and you think, oh my god it's so unpredictable things can change like that and you think that everything is normal and it's not and so I think moving forward I kind of adapted my practice to that

5:42Unknown Midwife: I was a community midwife for about four years part of my role as a community midwife. We did about four on calls a month. Home birth is lovely. And I think the main reason for that is sometimes in the hospital setting and labour ward, it's almost like that family is stepping into your environment, which we know inside out. You know, we're very comfortable there, but, you know, you can imagine you're trying to get yourself settled in somewhere that's not familiar. and whereas with home birth, we're going into their environment. That's really nice because they are at their most comfortable. We did have one home birth once and again, I always think the universe is always on your side in moments like these.

6:37Unknown Midwife: Normally there's only two midwives that go out to a home birth but this evening we had three because we had a new community midwife who was kind of settling in. The three of us were there and this labour went off really, really quickly. Amazing. You know, pool in the kitchen. We're kind of setting up our bits in and around. We're being really quiet. The lights are dimmed and the birthing partner's amazing. So really, we are kind of a spare part, which in essence is how labour should be, really.

7:15The baby's born, and within 10 seconds, this baby is blue,

7:24Unknown Midwife: it's floppy, it's not breathing.

7:33This was another moment where you automatically think,

7:36Unknown Midwife: well, thank goodness, we've got an extra pair of hands, there's three of us here. But then you also recognise how limited your resources are. at home birth because you don't have the backup of the emergency buzzer and seven people running in and a neonatal team and a recessive tear and, you know, you don't have any of that. You've got the bare bones of equipment. Our recessive tear was a chest of drawers, a lounge chest of drawers with a towel on and a bag of masks, a neonatal mask with a bag, which is a routine kit for a home birth. we resuscitated this baby this baby came around very quickly I really went home and I could not sleep after that because then you start to think of well what if that hadn't have happened what if we weren't able to do this and then you kind of get yourself into into this spiral of all the things that could have gone wrong instead of the things that could have gone right.

8:43Unknown Midwife: I think that's part of your process in reflecting on your practice and I think that kind of helps you moving forward.

8:55Unknown Midwife: If I could go back sort of 12 years and give myself some advice, it would just be have confidence and trust your gut.

9:21We'll be right back.

9:36Midwife Pip: Plus, get a free DeWalt power tool when you buy a select 20-volt max XR 4-amp-hour battery kit. Dad knows our best lineup is here in Lowe's. Valid through 714 while supplies last. Selection varies by location. Hi, it's Paige from Giggly Squad, and this episode is sponsored by Experian Boost. Summer glow-up? Check. Credit glow-up? Even better. Boost your credit scores instantly by getting credit for bills you're already paying. Your phone, utilities, rent, and insurance. I wish dating kind of worked like that. Connect your bank account, add those on-time payments to your Experian credit file, and your FICO score updates right away.

10:15Midwife Pip: You could instantly raise your FICO score by an average of 14 points with Experian Boost. Download the Experian app for free today. Results will vary. Users who received a boost improved their FICO score 8 from Experian by an average of 14 points. See App Store or Experian.com for details. Results will vary. Not all payments are Boost eligible. Users who received a Boost improved their FICO score rate from Experian by an average of 14 points. Some may not see improved scores or approval odds. Not all lenders use Experian credit files, and not all lenders use scores impacted by Experian Boost. See Experian.com for details.

10:57Unknown Midwife: For 14 years, midwife Pip has been guiding families through pregnancy, birth and beyond. Here she tells us how it all began.

11:11Unknown Midwife: I was actually meant to be a vet. I was never meant to be a midwife. I was meant to welcome animal lights into the world instead of that of babies. But in all aspects of life, we take fun new turns, don't we? And I actually ended up having an enforced gap year before I went to university because I had to have some surgery done. And during that time, I had plans. I was going to Scotland, I was going to do veterinary medicine. And I met my now husband's auntie, who was a midwife, and she was just talking to me about her role. And I was like, do you know what? I think I'll fancy that instead. As, you know, an 18-year-old was probably a big, brave step to make.

11:50Unknown Midwife: And reflecting back, I probably only just now realise how big a move that big old U-turn was. And I'm not sure if my dad's yet forgiven me, to be honest, for not going down the veterinary medicine route. But here we are, and I am beyond pleased that I followed my gut instinct.

12:11Unknown Midwife: That gut reaction is very much a skill of a midwife. and I think it comes with experience, it comes with intuition, it comes with really getting to know that woman in front of you and the physiology of birth. You have to be 10 steps ahead. That's like a key skill for a midwife. You know, this is a life or lives in our hands. But also I think as women and as mothers, that gut instinct is so powerful. And I'm always saying to expectant or new parents, well, what is your gut saying? If your gut is saying to you in pregnancy, like something just doesn't feel quite right, I can't pinpoint anything, but something just doesn't feel quite right.

12:47Unknown Midwife: Like that is powerful. Listen to that. And the same when you're a new parent with your baby. If you're like, this just isn't right for my baby or something's just feeling off. That's almost like one of the most powerful red flags, I think, to get help. Our gut instinct is really important. The reality is I always say that midwifery on a good day is beautiful and wonderful, but on a bad day is really bad day. and we know that so many births don't go to kind of plan in the way we might like. You can't write a birth plan like a shopping list and kind of expect it to unfold. We know that in the UK now around one in five births are unplanned or emergency cesarean sections but one of the things that really I guess challenged my thoughts around things was I remember seeing a woman who, when I was quite newly qualified as a midwife, and I saw her in the postnatal ward, and she'd had what we would look at on paper as a really complicated birth.

13:50Unknown Midwife: And I was seeing her like less than 24 hours after. So everything was really, really raw to her. And I remember just doing a routine check and just saying, why don't you just write down any kind of like questions or worries or things that might be troubling you about your birth or your body or your baby? so that when the team come round, you can have a bit of a debrief with them and answer those questions. Because I was sat there thinking she must be so traumatised from everything she's gone through. And it was one of those births where everything deviated from what we would have considered a plan.

14:22Unknown Midwife: There was intervention, long hours, lots of uncertainty. And she said to me, I didn't get what I planned, but I got myself. And I am more capable and more powerful than I ever knew and my birth experience was empowering to know that I could stay grounded and stay in control amongst so many challenges.

14:48Unknown Midwife: Her portrayal of that birth really changed how I viewed birth preparation or perceptions around birth forever to be honest because she had taken lifelong strength and empowerment from a really complicated situation not because it was easy but because she really understood what was happening.

15:11Unknown Midwife: And yet we can see the flip side in that on paper someone might have a completely straightforward uncomplicated birth but their perception is that it was a really traumatic out of control experience. That really highlights to me the fact that what birth looks like on paper isn't the important thing, it really is how that woman and how that family feels going through that experience. And I hope that it gives hope to expectant parents because it means that no, you can't control every if, but, and maybe and exactly what your birth's going to look like. But actually with that right information, that right preparation, that right support, that thing can still be really positive and empowering, even if it isn't that really straightforward birth that you might have initially kind of planned or hoped for.

16:06Unknown Midwife: If I could tell the world one thing about birth, it would be that it's not something that women need to be rescued from. I see so much of the fear around birth coming from the idea that women's bodies are inherently unreliable or that birth is something that we have to kind of survive rather than moving through and working with. but honestly what I've seen again and again in my experience is that when women are informed they're supported they feel safe their bodies our bodies can absolutely do such extraordinary things and birth isn't about control or perfectionism but actually women understanding what's happening in their bodies understanding why and we really see that then that fear softens and that confidence grows and birth can become something that shapes women rather than breaking them.

17:05Unknown Midwife: You know, it's this phenomenal opportunity for strength and growth in a really positive way. There's this big focus on how you have children and your life changes. And yes, of course it does. But that period of growth doesn't have to be negative. It doesn't have to be a loss of identity. It can be a really powerfully positive thing. And ultimately that journey starts with how women feel when they cross that boundary into parenthood and how they feel about their birth experience thank you so much for listening please do like subscribe and leave us a review we would love to know what you think and if you're a midwife and would like to take part in this series you can find contact details in the podcast description

18:24Midwife Pip: We'll be right back. select 20 volt max XR 4 amp hour battery kit. Dad knows our best lineup is here in Lowe's. Valid through 714 while supplies last. Selection varies by location. Hi, it's Paige from Giggly Squad and this episode is sponsored by Experian Boost. Summer glow up? Check. Credit glow up? Even better. Boost your credit scores instantly by getting credit for bills you're already paying. Your phone, utilities, rent, and insurance. I wish dating kind of worked like that. Connect your bank account, add those on-time payments to your Experian credit file, and your FICO score updates right away.

19:01Midwife Pip: You could instantly raise your FICO score by an average of 14 points with Experian Boost. Download the Experian app for free today. Results will vary. Users who received a boost improved their FICO score 8 from Experian by an average of 14 points. See App Store or Experian.com for details. Results will vary. Not all payments are Boost eligible. Users who received a boost improved their FICO score rate from Experian by an average of 14 points. Some may not see improved scores or approval odds. Not all lenders use Experian credit files, and not all lenders use scores impacted by Experian Boost. See Experian.com for details.

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