I am a
20-something midwifery student at the University of Greenwich, and I am about
to embark upon my second year of training. My life as a student midwife is
hectic, challenging and emotional- with this in mind I decided to write down my
thoughts and ponderings to reflect on my day-to-day life (and hopefully
entertain you in the process).
Where to begin? Whenever I tell people I am studying to
become a midwife, the question they always ask me is 'what made you want to
become a midwife?’- I guess this is a better place to start than any.
When I was studying A-levels at college, the plan was to
become a journalist. I was a bit lost for what to do with my life; I think I
was too young to make any serious career decisions. When choosing what courses
to undertake, I went with what I was good at previously at school. I chose
subjects like English Lit and Journalism. Almost as soon as I started I knew it
wasn't right for me.
However, in October 2011 I travelled out to India with my
mother who works for a charity based there. One day in Bengaluru I stumbled
across a 'child survival clinic'. Women would attend
ante-natally and
post-delivery with their children, and learn about preventative life threats,
hygiene and infant feeding. The surrounding area was deprived and impoverished,
the slums being a hot-zone for the likes of Malaria, HIV and tropical disease.
These pregnant women were generally young, yet some of them were pregnant for
the 5th or 6th time. I attended this centre for a few days and was fascinated
by the work I was witnessing. As a naturally inquisitive person, this aspect of
life that I knew barely anything about drew me in.
I decided to look into Midwifery on my return to the UK. I
was haunted by what I had seen in India and wanted to learn more. I haven't had
any children of my own, so the world of child-bearing was an entirely new and
exciting one for me. The applicant-to-place ratio was initially off-putting,
but I like a challenge! Although I was studying courses that seemed irrelevant,
I worked hard at them to achieve the best grades. The idea of becoming a
midwife became increasingly dominant in my mind, so upon finishing college I
applied to university. I started a job in healthcare, got used to bodily fluids
and paper work and night shifts.
People kept telling me not to bother, how I should apply for
nursing first to give me a better chance. The doubts spurred me on even more; I
just worked harder to make my application stand out! I can be stubborn, so
before I got ahead of myself I wanted to make sure this career was definitely
for me.
I worked and saved for a year and spent thousands of pounds to travel
out to Africa, to see midwifery on a more intimate level. As I mentioned
before, I haven't had any children of my own and have never been pregnant, so I
wanted to at least witness a birth first hand before commencing midwifery
training. Fortunately, this pricey experience confirmed to me the beginnings of
a passion. I fell head over heels for the profession; I knew this is what I
wanted to do for the rest of my life!
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I haven't looked back since.
Until next time, Aimee
