Midwife? Doula? Something else?

Just after people’s thoughts. After having such an amazing labour and birthing experience I keep thinking about how I want to help other women do the same. So I keep wondering if I should look at becoming a midwife, a doula or something else? A few times over the years, I've considered midwifery though until joining bellybelly I didn’t even know doula’s existed. On the one hand I think being a Doula would be great cause the women hiring a doula know what they want so I could help them achieve that. But then I’ve heard so many stories of women who have been unhappy with previous births because they were pushed into choices (or had choices made for them) that they weren’t happy with so becoming a midwife could mean potentially giving women that don’t know about their options a more positive experience. Then to add to that, if I do decide midwifery is the path I want to go down, should I JUST study midwifery or should I become an RN and then study midwifery on top of that. I also keep wondering if there is another option that I haven’t thought of?

Honestly, I may not end up going down this path at all but I want to do some study so I can eventually have a career rather than just a job.

I had all the thoughts and feelings you describe here about a year ago. I have ended up following a different path now, but still consider becoming a doula in the future.
I think becoming a doula would be a great way to start, then you could always pursue midwifery later if you desire, and you would then have some previous experience with attending births. That's the the way I would go about it at least.
I would battle with the RN/purely midwifery decision too. For me, I am only really interested in midwifery, but kinda think it would be a waste not to do the double degree when it is only a year extra (at least in WA, from what I remember) and would give you more options for the future.
Probably haven't been of any help, but just shared my thoughts.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do :)

Hey! I have felt everything youa re feeling too! I decided to go the midwife path. Where i live i didnt have the option to do the double degree or the Bmid so i am doing RN first then Mid.I was bummed about that at first, but honestly the job ops for someone who is an RN as well as a midwife are greater as you are more diverse. I am about to start my 2nd year now :)
Follow your heart chick.. you won't regret it :)

ETA- When i talk about Job ops as a RN i am talking about in my town! It could be completely different in other areas I am not sure!

I have just finished my BMID degree, and was in your shoes 4.5 years ago. When I had my 3rd I wanted to give it at go. I was pretty quickly drawn to midwifery though over being a doula- mostly because I didn't have much experience with doulas, but I had one to one caseload midwifery for my 3 pregnancies and wanted to be involved in that. So for me, I applied thinking I wouldn't get in, and got accepted into my first preference- BMID. I deferred the first year as my son was only 6 months and started in 2010. I finished last year, and am just waiting now for my graduate year to begin.
If you decide to go the uni route to become a midwife, I recommend talking with current students and graduates from the courses you are considering. See if their philosophies are still similar to yours (speak to a range as obviously each persons individual philosophies are different) but that may help you decide between BMID direct or RN then BM. It will also help you to know what your local hospitals are actually employing more of.

One other thing to consider is if you would like to own your own small business, or if you would rather the security of a larger employer with regard to if you become a doula or midwife. Yes of course you can do private midwifery if you become a midwife, but most midwives would work in hospitals at least in the beginning, and most doulas would work for themselves or in small groups.

I agree with Bobbie- you certainly won't regret giving it a go- whichever way you go. I certainly haven't. I can't wait to be working. I loved all my prac shifts while studying...even he emotionally challenging ones.

Out of interest, to get into midwifrey as a mature-age student are there certain pre-requisites the course requires? I've often wondered about going down this path too, but science was not my strong suite at school. I have a uni degree so I have gone down the path of study previously ... wonder if that would help? I'll probably never make the leap out of my current career, but I do like to romance the idea of being a midwife or doula :)

:

---

Out of interest, to get into midwifrey as a mature-age student are there certain pre-requisites the course requires? I've often wondered about going down this path too, but science was not my strong suite at school. I have a uni degree so I have gone down the path of study previously ... wonder if that would help? I'll probably never make the leap out of my current career, but I do like to romance the idea of being a midwife or doula :)

---

Depends on the uni on their requirements. For me as mature age, at my uni, my previous degree was what got me into it. I didn't even sit a STAT test.

I had no previous degree but got in in the basis of my stat result and my personal information form. It depends on the uni so it's worth attending an open day to find out the requirements that would affect you.

Thanks for that gals :)

Just thought I'd pop my 2c worth in.

I have just completed my Graduate Diploma and will register as a midwife shortly. I went the RN route.

If you go the BMid route, you are limited in where you will be able to work. Most rural and regional hospitals will not employ a midwife who is not an RN. Many larger hospitals also prefer RN/RMs as maternity wards often cater for gynaecology and surgical patients as well. It's a sad fact of our health system. BMid also carries a high entrace rank, in NSW it is well over 90, as the courses are VERY popular. Nursing can be entered for as low as 60. Grad Dips are also done via distance education, while you work in a maternity unit. You gain far more practical experience in a Grad Dip - you need 1500 hours, while a BMid need only 700 hours over the entire 3 years! I don't understand this at all, but that's what the Board states. Beware though, as of 2014, postgraduate training for RN's goes out to 18 months rather than the 12 months it is at present. Gotta love our new board. If I had the choice, I'd do the double degree - more places are starting to offer this, and I'd keep an eye on Charles Sturt as they are excellent at distance ed and are bringing this out shortly. UNE also do RN by correspondence which you could follow with CSU grad dip.

The other thing I don't like about the BMid, is that the students do very little with sick babies. I needed to do 200 hours in a special care nursery or NICU, whereas the BMids in the same place do only 32 hours. That's it. I'm not sure if it's the same at all unis, but that's pretty poor! They also pretty much ignore the fact that women have co-morbidities these days. It's a wonderful ideal to train midwives for "normal" but it is just that - an ideal. With today's obstetric led care, intervention and complexity become commonplace.

Oh dear, ranting again! Ha ha I tend to do that. LOL.

I would disagree with 90% of what Pferdenuts said. Not sure how your ranting "again" when it is your first post?
Most regional hospitals are employing BMIDs, they have to as there are few RN/Ms coming through now. tertiary hospitals take anyone and Midwives(only) do look after women as we are able to care for all degrees of women. I know in my BMID i did a hell of a lot (way more then we should) with sick babes. AND there is a very large proportion focusing on the common issues women have nowadays and how that effects pregnancy as we are educated in how to educate them about improving their life and the future for their babies.
The Focus on Midwifery is that it is for normal women and pregnancies and when it moves out of our scope we refer the woman to a suitable model (ideally with us still involved)
A registered nurse has less requirements then a BMID to complete for registration.

In adelaide you have the choice of 2 universities Flinders and UniSA if your not a science head try for UniSA as flinders is definitely a more science based course. UniSa you can get in via a few ways Stat test, previous degree, highschool grades, or foundation studies (course designed for those who have not studied in a LONG time and never at a tertiary level.)
if the current law that is trying to get through gets through there is no point in becoming a doula as midwifery will be a protected profession which means that doulas may find they have a hard time getting work as it does cross some of the midwifery barriers.

I chose not to do nursing as i can not stand dealing with old people.. my focus has always been on women centered care (yes i can do that with a gynea patient) and evidence based practice. and Old man balls freak me OUT!!

:

---

A registered nurse has less requirements then a BMID to complete for registration.

---

Not in the degrees I researched. 700 hours for BMid. 900 hours for RN. I don't know how they got it approved. This is in NSW mind you. Others are a bit better, but again, the approval process is changing with this new board and a lot of it doesn't make sense. In the health district I work, even the regional hospitals will not take RM only. There are plenty of RN/RMs coming through, we just graduated a class of 50 with 88 following. It's getting bigger and bigger, at least in the Eastern states! Agree on the doula part - they are trying to make doulas illegal after some homebirth incidents, so it probably isn't worth it until that's all resolved.

Oh, and I hate old man balls too, lol.

:

---

Not sure how your ranting "again" when it is your first post?

---

Other forums. I'm not exactly silent on the subject. What does that matter to you anyway?

It absolutely depends on which state you are in. NSW is probably a little slower than the other states in regards to BMID. I believe in QLD Postgrad is actually on it's way out, and they will be expected to complete the BMID (I assume with a fair few credits) if they wish to become midwives. That is my understanding anyway.
FWIW- I just finished my BMID, and I had to do WELL over 1000 hours of clinical. I had 1150 ish I believe PLUS my follow through hours, which are quite substantial also. Clinical/ Prac hours are not the only on the job experience hours required when you do BMID- follow through or continuity of care journeys are a MASSIVE component. I had 80 hours on a special care placement, however we also managed some unwell babies in their mothers rooms, so these were also added to our sick babies unit. We spent a LOT of 2nd year on other medical issues that may complicate pregnancy (Or pregnancy may complicate the health issues) and I feel confident in the learning I have received. Having worked with many midwives, I can honestly say, that you can't tell who is from which background after a year or 2 unless you ask them!
I think most people truly believe the way they are doing it is the best way- but really, we are all qualified to work in a profession, so stop trying to say that one is better than the other- we all have our place no matter how we get there! We wouldn't be qualified or registered if we were unsafe to practice!

Thanks for all your thoughts and comments ladies. It's certainly a lot to think about!