Have you had a student midwife??

[Mini T-Rex]

As the title suggests, have you had a student midwife follow you through your pregnancy?

I'm wanting a second support person so DH can go spend time with our DS while I am in labour. I'm not very comfortable with having family there as last time it was very long and I was very naked the majority of the time! There a things that I just wouldn't want a family member seeing!

We talked about doulas or IM but last time I had a 4th year student (she worked for the hospital) and she was amazing. Can I hear your experiences, good and bad if any?

[Teeki]

I did. First time with DD I had GP shared care, and so it wasn't until labour that I met any midwives. There was a student there on the day so I consented to her being at the birth.

Second time with DS I had a dedicated midwife. She knew a student who needed to do some follow throughs and I was happy for her to do it. She couldn't be at every pre-natal appointment because births take precedence and a couple of times she had contact hours for her studies that she couldn't avoid. At the birth she was supportive, in the way any midwife is. Which is to say,not the same as DH. She was fantastic, both midwives were, but they were at the business end and she was learning. I remember my midwife showing her and telling her things quite a bit.

It was fantastic to have them both there, but I don't think I'd expect the same type of support as you'd get from a birth partner or doula.

[nyigi]

I had two student midwives during my pregnancy and delivery with very different experiences.

One attended a lot of my midwife appointments during my pregnancy and then she came and attended me with the midwife while I laboured at home, she also followed when I had to transfer to hospital and then attended my postpartum checks at home. She was lovely, very gentle, gave me plenty of space, followed my lead and the lead of my midwife but also brought some extra assistance, support and advice when she could. It was great having her around.

Since I had to transfer to hospital my midwife and the above student had to hand over to the hospital midwifery team after they brought me there.
So during the later part of my labour and the delivery I had a different team. A nurse, a midwife and another student midwife. The nurse and midwife were absolutely amazing and I am still amazed by how well they cared for me and held everything together. The student midwife at the hospital was a pain in the arse. She just hung around often getting too close and being in the way and she was always super keen to do internal examinations and kept asking if she could do another one (she was actually pretty brave for asking I guess, but no not what I wanted at that time). I let her do one and it was the most uncomfortable internal exam I've had, so I guess she needed some practice but I didn't want it to be on me. Eventually when everything went pear shaped she just kind of shrank back against the wall while the nurse and midwife worked their guts out.

Admittedly it was a really different situation with the two student midwives and the one who attended me at the hospital may have been a lot more pleasant had things not gotten so difficult or maybe even if I had met her earlier on.

In general I agree with Teeki, my better student midwife was supportive but they were both there to learn midwifery, supporting me was not their primary reason for being there.

[HotI]

I had a student for each of my pregnancies. first was young, nice, happy to answer my questions and research things I wanted more info on, but became quite submissive whenever a medical person was in the room. on the night of the birth, I had alot going on personally, and choose not to invite her to the birth. we caught up later, and she helped with some post natal support.

I wasn't planning on having a student 2nd time around, but saw an article in the local paper on a student midwife who was mature age and had an interesting history. I met up for a coffee and we got on really well. She began coming to midwife appts, and she added a great perspective to my birth support 'team'. Again, it wasn't until the end that i decided whether she would come to the birth, but she did and she was just awesome. She helped to get my DH organised, and helped to ground me. When i was a little unwell after the birth, i was happy that she was the one holding my baby.

I think students can be great, but if you are looking for something specific interview more than one student and don't settle if they are not what you are looking for.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

I had a student midwife during the delivery. She was introduced to me while I was in the later stages of dilating.

Nice girl, pleasant, not so jaded by the factory system they have going there. Respected me as a human being. Was more helpful than the "real" midwives!

[luna moth]

I had one with each pregnancy.

The first was young, and really pretty naive. For a third year she didn't seem to know that much. She missed a lot of appointments and I tried to sack her in transition. But postnatally she was brilliant. Because of her, we weren't hurried out of birth suite like other mums can be, so we got extended skin to skin time.

The second was recommended to me by my first assigned midwife. More mature, and with a lot in common with me. If she missed an appointment, she followed up by phone. She had an ability to read my mind all the way through, which was good, because it gave us more time to chat. She was brilliant at the birth, in that invisible-but-incredibly-useful kind of way. And she held my hand when I got stitches! We're still close.

I wouldn't hesitate to do it if I were having another baby.

[Mumma T]

I had one and she happily attended all the appointments, while she was lovely I didn't find her much more than a person in the room when it came to labor,

Next time I will get a doula rather than having a student with me.