1st year of Midwifery done and dusted

Wow! The first year of midwifery is over!

Well, almost. I do have half an afternoon of class to go to on Wednesday, some revision of pharmacology, and most exciting of all, an extra continuity experience with a woman who is having twins in late January!

I haven't posted up the stories of the last 5 continuity experiences I had. I got really busy with uni, writing essays and horrible things like that! My 6th woman had an elective Cesarean, she had an allergic reaction to the morphine in her spinal block, so that wasn't at all pleasant. Also the midwives were really rude and ordered me and her mother out of the postnatal room later on; I was not impressed. Neither was Jenny my course coordinator. The 7th was another elective Cesarean, that went really smoothly. The 8th was an induction as there was meconium stains in the liquor. That birth was totally amazing! She was given the lowest dose of synto to start off labour, and 75mins later she was handed her baby! I love births like that : )

Unfortunately, I missed the last two births. I had to work when the 9th women was birthing, she reported having a lovely birth! I was able to be present during the labour of the 10th woman, but then had to take Mum and Dad to the airport when they were going away up to the Gold Coast, so missed that birth as well.

I have been attending fortnightly visits with the woman who is having twins. She is really well, just feeling H.U.G.E! I am really looking forward to her labour and birth. I won't be able to do much by way of getting in there and helping because there will be a consultant, neo-reg and a couple of midwives; I am last on the pecking line! But I get to see amazing things : )

This photo was taken at our end-of-year dinner that we students planned as a thank-you for our wonderful teachers.

It was a fantastic night. We saw a slide-show of the year. Heard speeches. Gave flowers and gifts to our teachers. And presented them also with a quilt that many of the students contributed to by decorating a square. N. and I put the quilt together and in the end it looked fabulous!

It has been a fantastic year. I am a looking forward to next year in some ways, and kind of sad also that it will be different. We will be spending 24hours a week in the hospitals doing rotations of all the wards and antenatal clinics and neonatal special care nursery. That will be pretty full on. But we also do not get to do any continuity, so that's really sad.

Hopefully I will get to posting up more regularly next year. I am sure there will be lots to talk about!