How Can A Midwife Change Your Birthing Experience?

A midwife is a trained health professional who supports and cares for women during pregnancy, labour, birth, and even after the birth of their babies. Midwives operate in hospital maternity units, birth centres, obstetrician’s consulting rooms, midwifery group practices, community health centres and in private homes.

Due to their professionalism and expertise, midwives are often part of a labour and delivery team associated with a local hospital. If you live in a rural area, you might see a midwife at a local community health service. 

You might also need to travel to a hospital with a maternity unit for the birth. Here’s everything you need to know about the role of midwife in changing your birthing experience.

Speaking to BabyChakra, Dr. Bhavini Shah Balakrishnan, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Masina Hospital Mumbai, speaks about the importance of the right birthing team when a women is giving birth and how it can change her experience for life, “The experience of giving birth and the satisfaction associated with it have been related with several factors has a lot of emotional connections to it. Fear associated with child birth is universal. The care and comfort provided to a labouring mother when in pain remains with her throughout her life as pleasant or horrified memories depending upon what she experienced.”

She adds, “It is the role of the midwife and the nurse to guide the lady through her pregnancy not just by ensuring regular check ups but by building the lady’s confidence in her ability to give birth. Mutual trust in each others competence is of paramount importance. This is also possible by involving the partner in the entire process of birthing to make this journey  easier for the lady and to stress upon the fact that this is a joint responsibility to be shared by both partners.”

Role Of A Midwife During Your Pregnancy

Midwives provide a plethora of health care services for pregnant women including gynaecological examinations, contraceptive counselling, prescriptions, and labour and delivery care.

Studies have shown that your midwife plays an important role throughout your pregnancy and even after your delivery. Some of these functions are:

• Provide family planning and preconception care and help you make your birth plans

• Watch your psychological and physical well-being

• Perform prenatal exams and ask for tests

• Advise you about diet, exercise and medicines

• Check the developing baby’s health, growth and position

• Educate you about pregnancy, childbirth, and newborn care

• Provide you the much needed emotional and practical support during labour

• Make referrals to doctors as and when needed

Role Of A Midwife During Your Labour

The role of midwife during labour is an important one. They support you through your labour and birth by:

• giving you information, encouragement and emotional support

• monitoring your progress and suggest strategies to help your labour

• monitoring the developing baby’s heartbeat and other signs

• offering you pain relief, or arrange for a doctor to administer it

• getting extra medical help if needed

If you do not have any complications, they will assist you with both the labour and the birth of your baby. You might not have the same midwife care for you during the whole labour. However, in case of any complications, an obstetrician, perinatologists, and other healthcare professionals can also be called.

In a private hospital, they  will keep updating your obstetrician on your progress and call them for the birth. 

However, midwives can’t give epidurals which can only be given in a hospital by an anaesthetist.

Role Of A Midwife After Childbirth

After your delivery, your midwife will check whether you have lost too much blood or need stitches.

Midwives also offer postnatal care including:

• Helping you settling your baby

• Showing you how to change nappies and bathe your baby

• Administering pain relief if needed or organising a doctor to provide the same

• Carrying out some routine health tests like newborn screening

When you return home, a midwife might visit you at home too.

If you choose to give birth at home, your midwife will usually visit you daily for a few days.

Dr. Bhavini Shah Balakrishnan says the clinical management of labour and childbirth is well understood, but not enough attention is given to making the woman feel safe, comfortable and positive about her experience.

According to her the five tips for positive birthing experience are:

5 Tips For A Positive Birthing Experience

1. Educate expecting women about the antenatal, intranatal and postnatal care that needs to be taken.
2. Have a birth plan in place: a hospital bag, whom to take along to the hospital, where to deliver, what pain relief you desire etc.
3. Keep in constant touch with your birthing team.
4. Include antenatal and postnatal exercises along with meditation as a vital part of the entire process.
5. Let the partner be equally involved in the entire process.

The Bottom Line

A midwife plays a crucial role in your birthing experience and having a midwife you know especially during labour and birth helps to calm your fears about childbirth and the labour pains.

A cordial relationship between the expecting mum and the midwife increases the mum’s calmness and self-confidence. The presence of a midwife during childbirth can facilitate the contractile activities and uterine bloodstream by decreasing her anxiety. Research has also suggested that the benefits of continuing care by the midwives have increased vaginal delivery.

DISCLAIMER: We have taken steps to check the accuracy of information & practices shared above; however, it is not a replacement for a doctor’s opinion. Please check with either your doctor, or an expert, before trying any suggestion, practice, or medication mentioned here.