Do complications happen in birth? Yes, they do sometimes. In this 3-part series, we will explore different aspects of midwifery care that address this important topic. ⠀
Principle 1: Your midwife comes to your birth prepared.
This preparation first started when she began attending deliveries, and continues to grow with the midwife throughout her experiences. ⠀ ⠀ Your midwife brings life-saving equipment to every birth, and is trained to manage every common birth emergency the best she can. Sometimes that looks like treating at home, sometimes it means starting treatment at home, then transporting to the hospital while continuing treatment. ⠀
Your midwife shouldn’t turn every moment into chaos and fear a complication around every corner, but she should be watchful and aware of anything abnormal as she calmly guides you through the birthing process. Sometimes you may not even realize that there is a complication, if it is minor and your midwife quickly handles it.
When the complication is managed, your midwife is not the hero of the moment or the star of the story, she has simply done her job. ⠀ ⠀
As midwives, we prepare ahead of time with an emergency transfer plan for every birth. ⠀ On our way to each birth and upon arrival, we mentally run through possible complications and set up our equipment with efficient preparedness and treatment in mind.⠀
Even when a mother and baby are healthy and low-risk, complications can still occasionally occur. Your midwife is mentally prepared to handle these things as they come up, so you don’t have to worry about them and can focus on having the safe, gentle birth that you are working towards.
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