Considered a type of nurse, midwives hold a licence to practise midwifery, which is an area of health specialising in pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. Midwives are fully trained to deliver babies however if you require a caesarean, while your midwife can be present, an obstetrician (a specialised doctor) will be required to perform a delivery of this kind.
From trimester one through to three, a midwife's role is to monitor you and your baby at all antennal appointments. Theyâll track your progress, babyâs size, babyâs movement and position and theyâll assist in setting up any necessary appointments (for example your Gestational Diabetes test). Most importantly, they will be on call for your delivery. If you are in the private system in Australia, when you go into labour midwives will generally care for you until youâre ready to deliver. From that point, the obstetrician will step in.
If youâre in the public system, unless youâre in a high risk category or youâve booked an elective caesarean, your pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience will be in the hands of midwives. If you would rather have one assigned midwife rather than a collection, make sure to tell your GP or birth hospital as soon as possible so they can add you into a specified midwifery group, or on a list if theyâre at capacity. Some women prefer an assigned midwife for continuity of care reasons.
If you are assigned one particular midwife, usually youâll have access to a mobile number so you can text or call them when you need throughout the pregnancy. If youâre not in a midwifery program, call the hospital directly.
Following the birth, the midwife will come to your home to check-in on you and your baby.
At these visits the midwife will check your physical health. Some things theyâll monitor is your uterus (as after birth itâll contract and shrink), your stitches if you had a tear, episiotomy or a caesarean, and how you are tracking with breastfeeding. Baby wise, the midwife will check their skin, weight and overall general health. At these appointments, feel free to ask your midwife about anything youâre worried or unsure about. Theyâre there for you.
