midwifery interview practice

• Why do you want to be a midwife?

  • Unique respnsresponsibilityibility
  • Helping and empowering women
  • Advocating
  • understanding concerns
  • Work experience
  • Positives and negnegativesavites
  • Non-judgemental support for women
  • use empathetic communication
  • privilege to be part of a liflife-alteringe altering event
• Midwifery and not another profession?

  • Specialists in their role of supporting women
  • career with a unique chance to empower and advocate for women
  • opportunity to specialise e.g., teenage pregnancy or womans health
  • variety
• What do you think midwives do day to day, what do they get up to?

  • monitor the health of expectant mothers and unborn babies
  • educating mothers on reproductive health
  • delivering babies
  • emotional support
  • taking bloods, blood pressure
  • helping families to cope after loss
  • creating birth plans
  • educating breastfeeding
• What kinds of professionals do midwives work with?

  Doctora, obstetricians, neonatal nurses, health visitors, dieticians, anesthetists and pediatricians.
• What kind of challenges do midwives face day to day?

  • mental health affecting both patients and midwives.
  • trauma in expectant mothers from birth or any stage in pregnancy
  • antenatal trauma due to obstetric complications
  • post-partum depression
  • important that midwives have a good understanding women and recognising when they may be struggling with mental health.
• Do you think midwives need to have experienced birth and motherhood before they can be a good midwife?

  • not essential but beneficial
  • a good midwife must have the ability to communicate well
  • adapt based on each patient
  • compassion and empathy when supporting
  • these are skills gained from not just childbirth but life experience
• What does natural birth mean to you?

  A natural birth can be interpreted but to me it means giving birth vaginally without the need for medical intervention.
• Midwives cope with lots of responsibility how do you feel you will cope?

  • i enjoy responsibility
  • work as a swim teacher
  • responsible for children in my care
• How will you cope with long shifts and unsocial hours?

  • optimistic and energetic person
  • if was struggling i would look for positives and ensure high-quality-qualityh quality care
  • lo ok to collegees for support and check they are also managing well
  • studying has made me understand the need for commitment when working long periods of time.
  • when not working i would make sure to rest to ensure i was in good shape.
• • events will never be easy to deal with
  • essential to be a form of support for women and their families
  • initially allowing them to express emotions
  • allowing to process events
  • being their by offering a hand to hold or a tissue
  • refer to support services
  • work experience - validating womans fears

  
• if you were working in the community and had a good relationship with a client and they wanted to have a homebirth after medical advice not to. how would you best support that woman?

  • allow her to make decision
  • inform of concerns
  • non-judgemental apporach
  • plan for emergency situation
• What have you read in the news about midwifery?

  shortage of midwives

  2500 midwives short

  staff working unpaid overtime

  positives and negatives
• How would you react if you failed an essay you thought you did really well on?

  • seek help from peers
  • ask for feedback
  • edit the essay
• Events expected in typical birth?

  • inititially mild and irregular contractions as cervix is dilating
  • lasts for hours to days
  • contractions become stronger
  • water may break
  • intense contractions in pushing stage
  • head delivers first
  • check airways
  • cord cut not immediatly
  • placenta delivered
• challenges of midwives nowdays?

  • own plans on birth so adapting care
  • trauma
  • religious beliefs
• Nhs values?

  • patient care comes first
  • value each person
  • care
  • compassion is central to care
  • improving health and wellbeing
  • maximise resources to benefit whole community
• MIDIRS - carepathways for autistic women to improve outcomes

  • strategy to make all students and healthcare professionals have training on autism to reduce health inequalitiies
  • acknowledging difficulties with access to healthcare
  • coping with interactions
  • 80% of women with autism do not recieve a diagnosis before turning 18. So many women will go through pregnancy without support in place for this.
• Why is is understanding autism important for midwives? autism has increase prevalance of following issues:

  • ptsd and anxiety
  • ocd
  • preterm labour and birth
  • diabetes
  • pcos and more

  complex presentation requires the need for lots of care and planning. midwives can be the first step in this planning

  so importance of reconissing and providing pkans for each woman is neccessary.
• SPELL FRAMEWORK - adovcated by national autistic society model for healthcare settings.

  
  

  strucuted routine of planning

  positive approach

  empathy in all interations, bias free care.

  low sensory stimuli

  links for long term care.
• What do you know about the nursing and midwifery council?

  Sets standards for nurses and midwives across the UKRegisters all midwivesProtects the publicFile complaints and deals with themProduces up to date information and articles on current affairs in midwifery and nursing
• What do you know about the royal college of midwives?


  Offers legal and educational support and campaignsTrade union for midwivesPromotes professional standards.