We all know the birth of a baby cannot be rescheduled–babies wait for no one--and so for the midwifery profession, it has largely been business as usual despite very different circumstances.
As with other essential workers, teams of hospital and community based midwives have continued to work through the lockdown to provide safe care for our mothers and their whānau.
While COVID-19 has seen an increase in anxiety in some of the women we care for, our team has continued to provide clinical care in an ever-changing work environment. The restrictions around visitors to the hospital include maternity, with only one nominated support person allowed to support a woman’s labour and birth. Lockdown has been hard for women and their whānau, as birth is usually a time when family and friends are eager to meet the latest arrival.
Despite having to navigate these additional challenges, midwives continue with their life-changing work ensuring the safety of women and their babies.
Three new graduate midwives have recently joined the Hutt Maternity team and they have slotted right in—adding to a strong team of midwives who work tirelessly to support families and babies at Hutt DHB. We talked with some of them alongside some experienced midwives about what they love being a midwife.
Today is a chance to celebrate the work our maternity team does.
For now, midwifery have deferred their usual get-together celebrations. The world has been reminded just how much we need our –midwives—midwives who have continued to provide exceptional care to all in challenging circumstances. On this day we want to just say, thank you.
Meet some of our amazing midwives who share what they love about the job and reflect on why they chose this career.
