Making a Midwife

This week we delve into hearing how the care of healthcare workers influences women's decisions and experiences. Spohia is our guest today and walks us through her two pregnancies and births which had incredibly challenging moments. Sophia is vulnerable in explaining the emotional experience following her first caesarean section which was unwanted, and how much she desired a VBAC for her second birth. She takes us through finding out her second baby has Down syndrome and the processes and support they experienced through that time.Sophia is so generous in the way she speaks truthfully and openly about her experiences and its insightful to hear how the information she was given, and not given, changed her outcomes as a birthing woman.We hope you find valuable information within Sophia's story and find a way to bring that into your practice and learning.

Hello and welcome to our last installment for 2021! what a year its been and while we have been very quiet for the past few months we have been working hard to get our uni done and also record more amazing interviews for you.Today we interview Lucy who is studying direct entry midwifery with kids in tow and a rural living situation. Lucy chats through her experiences of study so far, her yoga background and how this can support women through their pregnancies and births, studying with kids, and the undervalued sacrifices and contributions of students. It was such a thrill chatting with lucy and we hope you enjoy it.

Welcome back Making a Midwife family! Today we have a great episode for you today so get your listening ears ready.Today we speak with Tylah, a registered midwife working in a Midwifery Group Practice in the Northern Territory. You may have seen Tylah on Youtube, Tiktok or even One Born Every Minute Australia. She is a passionate midwife who is generously sharing her knowledge and experiences with all of us. Tylah also works with women and parents empowering them to feel confident in their journey towards an intentional pregnancy, birth and parenting journey. During her time as a midwife she has made it a goal to immerse and educate herself in any aspect that will increase a woman’s experience training in acupressure, calm birth, water birth, complementary therapies such as reflexology and aromatherapy, optimal fatal positioning as well as participating in further education in breastfeeding, perinatal mental health and currently sleep consulting.Tylah chats through her experiences and the ways in which her work environments have changed and her journey through midwifery.Tylah’s social media:Website: https://midwifetylah.comInstagram: @Midwife_TylahTikTok: @midwife_TylahYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzOlVJNoBjJ14QQOOLsDU4A/videosThank you for joining us for todays episode!

WELLLCOME BACK! Wowzers its been way too long! We are so SO thrilled to be back with you for another episode. Meg and I have been working ourselves silly trying to cram in placements, assignments, study, lectures, kids, work, and #selfcare (I'm kidding! that last one will have to wait until we've graduated) and we have so many plans for our return to the podcast!Today we have the absolute pleasure of bringing you this chat with Dr Liz Newnham! Liz currently lectures at an Australian university and has done some epic research around the midwife's role in promoting and supporting physiological birth. I found out about Liz by reading a research article she had done around the effect of epidural analgesia use on birth outcomes and she generously shares her findings on that with us too. Liz also talks about studying with kids, the importance of having midwives who are also invested in other occupations, and so much more!I hope you enjoy our return to the podcast!

Welcome back! This week we chat with the wonderful and recent PhD graduate Dr Tanya Capper from Queensland. Tanya shares her journey through midwifery and current research projects looking into workplace bullying. This is a topic many of us might be familiar with as we navigate our way through many different facilities for placement. It was so interesting to hear Tanya's findings! Tanya also shed some light on a project exploring continuity and incarceration during pregnancy.

This week we are sharing Emilie's story for our 52nd episode! Emilie is based in London and has a varied career to date working in high-risk settings, antenatal education and most recently perinatal education programs working with families in the first year of the child’s life! Emilie is excited to tell you about the Swedish method 'Birth Without Fear' and how you can contribute to a woman’s birth experience and support an emotionally safe birth.Emilie's Links:Website: https://birthbyheart.comInstagram https://www.instagram.com/swedishmidwife/?hl=enSusanna Heli’s 2021 eBook: ‘Giving Birth Without Fear’ https://www.booktopia.com.au/give-birth-without-fear-susanna-heli/ebook/9781913568245.html

Hello! welcome back Midweek Midwifery family! Its been a while between episodes as we both juggled placement and family but we are back with an episode that is worth the wait. Today's episode features the beautiful Samantha - A proud Kuungkari, Iningai and South Sea Islander Aboriginal woman. Samantha currently lives in Meanjin (Brisbane) on Jagera and Turrbal country and talks through her winding journey to Midwifery which had stops and starts on the way.Samantha's journey is incredibly encouraging and shows how important it is to stop when your body and your circumstances is telling you it's needed. She chats through some cultural safety questions and what her experience of study has been like.I was so encouraged by Samatha's wisdom and advice and I hope you find the same!

This week we are celebrating our 1-year anniversary! Thank you so much for joining us on this crazy journey and helping us build a supportive community of students and midwives world-wide. We have shared stories from students and registered midwives and received so many wonderful stories from aspiring students who have taken the leap and applied for midwifery after hearing an episode. To mark this anniversary we have made the intro extra long as we go over the highs and lows of this year and all things Poddy.We are also incredibly grateful to share with you our 50th episode chatting with the amazing Professor Caroline Homer, renowned midwifery researcher and the immediate past president of the Australian College of Midwives! Caroline will share her journey to midwifery, her work and a little about the college. Join the college today! https://www.midwives.org.au/user/register

Welcome back #midweekmidwifery fam! This we are sharing our episode with Dr Karin Cadwell an American Nurse and health researcher as well as one of the first International Board Certified Lactation Consultants. Also an international public speaker and even an avid knitter, Karin talks all through breastfeeding, that all important first hour and the impact of rooming in. Enjoy!

Hello and welcome to another fabulous #midweekmidwifery Wednesday!Today we hear from Jess who studied direct entry Midwifery externally and is now halfway through her grad year!Jess talks through studying with kids and a FIFO partner, how studying externally suited her, the midwife who inspired her to begin her midwifery and also what it was like doing her final placements and now grad year in a large tertiary hospital. Jess is so encouraging in the advice she gives, she describes the grad application processes she went through and talks about what it's like now having students with her on her grad year!I hope you enjoy listening to Jess' story as much as I did!

Hello Making a Midwife family and welcome back to the post first semester exam episode! we are excited to bring you a chat with Emily today who is currently working as a new grad in WA. With Emily we discuss grad years and applications, coming into midwifery as a nurse, the pressures of having previous medical training, being brave and research in your grad year!We hope you enjoy Emily's story and find it as inspiring and motivating as we did!Thank you everyone who left a review for us! that was so lovely and encouraging - please write us a quick review if you have time, it helps to let us know what we are doing right and to help other students and midwives to find us :)

Welcome back Making a Midwife family!This week we are so lucky to have another episode with the beautiful Katie James discussing an area of midwifery which she has specialised in through her career.Katie takes us through her experiences and knowledge of working with women facing mental health struggles, substance abuse, and domestic violence. She talks about how to ask the hard questions and why to listen to those gut feelings you might get.We are so thrilled to have Katie back again and can't thank her enough for her continued investment into student midwives!Thank you everyone who left a review for us! that was so lovely and encouraging - please write us a quick review if you have time, it helps to let us know what we are doing right and to help other students and midwives to find us :)

Welcome back Midwifery family!This week we hear from Claire who is based in Victoria, Australia and is currently in her third year of her bachelor of midwifery! Claire speaks openly about tactics that have helped her along her journey and her dedication to finishing her midwifery studies. Claire also talks about her early offer into her midwifery program, how to seize opportunities on placement when shy and her plans for after this degree.Thank you everyone who left a review for us! that was so lovely and encouraging - please write us a quick review if you have time, it helps to let us know what we are doing right and to help other students and midwives to find us :)

Welcome to another week of Making a Midwife! This week we are so thrilled to share with you our wonderful chat with Rhea Dempsey! Rhea is an all-round gem and such a gift to the birthing world. Based in Melbourne, Rhea takes us through her introduction to birth, what drew her into birth work and what she has learnt along the way. She shares practical advice for birth support and working with pain and chats through the 'crisis of confidence' idea which was fantastic. After listening to this you'll be forever carrying wide tooth combs with you to births and be wondering where you can find a cat to stroke (unless you already have one!).Please leave us a rating or review on apple podcasts - this lets us know how we are doing and whether we need to change anything! It also helps other people in the birthing world find us :)We hope you enjoy today's episode!

Hey #midweekmidwifery fam! This week is a long one! We had the pleasure of chatting with a beautiful direct entry student from Victoria, Australia called Massey. In this episode Massey talks though part-time study and pacing yourself, being true to yourself and some tips for getting the most out of your placements. Massey also loved the 'Midwifery Essentials' book which I also LOVE and use all the time on placement, as well as some cute pins! Details below:Coucou Suzette Pins on Instagram: @coucousuzetteMidwifery essentials, 2018, Joanne Gray & Rachel Smith. https://www.booktopia.com.au/midwifery-essentials-joanne-gray/book/9780729542760.html?source=pla&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsY6HxoWw8AIVTFtgCh26WANMEAQYASABEgKEofD_BwE

Hey #midweekmidwifery fam, episode 40 is here! This week we meet the lovely Dr Deborah Sundin from Western Australia. Deb talks through her own journey to midwifery and nursing, and time spent in a remote community as well as her Phd research and findings! Deb also gives some advice for those considering the path to a PhD and provides an outline of some of the nursing and midwifery projects she is currently supervising!

Hello! Welcome to this BONUS episode of Making a Midwife!This episode features the vivacious and passionate Bernadette who went into midwifery after not being sure what she wanted to do and found her heart and home there. She chats through her struggles as a student and her experience of working as a new grad, her time working as a remote outreach midwife and what she learnt from that, and the vast differences between the hospital and international settings she has worked in.Digressions include - New York lifestyles of the rich and famous, meet the fockers, and mum guilt.I know you are going to LOVE this episode!Don't forget to follow us on instagram and facebook!Thanks for your support and love!

Welcome back guys! We hope you enjoy this week's episode as Alanna takes us through her study journey and shares advice and study tips as well as letting us in on what her experience of her grad year has been like.Enjoy!

Welcome to another week of Making a Midwife! This week we hear from Radha who shares her journey into midwifery and how having her own birth lead her to focusing on the emotional health of midwives and midwifery students. Using methods from CBT, Hypnotherapy and Applied Psychology Radha supports those working and studying in the midwifery fields to make the most of their time and to overcome limiting factors.

Welcome lovely midwifery family as we hear from Dr Jeni Stevens who takes us through studying with 4 boys (wowzers!), realising of her love of academics, and her research around Doulas, and women's experience in caesarean sections. Jeni has such fascinating research to share on how women perceive staff behaviour in theatre and also about immediate skin to skin after caesarean section and how she has implemented that as policy.We hope you enjoy today's episode!Please leave us a rating or review on apple podcasts and follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

Hello! Welcome to this week's episode of Making a Midwife where we chat all things Midwifery, study, realising you're clever and a little WA midwifery history thrown in there as well! Clare talks so passionately about her journey through midwifery and we think you're going to love this and take so much away from it.Don't forget to follow us on instagram and facebook!Thanks for your support and love!

This week we meet Anna, a postgraduate midwifery student from Western Australia!Anna shares her study journey to midwifery and talks us through her degree, the requirements and placement experiences to date. It was so interesting to hear about Anna's degree, it certainly sounds a lot more full on. If you are weighing up whether to do a Bachelor of Midwifery, dual degree or finish your current degree and then go on to postgrad midwifery, this is the episode for you! Anna shares her experience of the Master of Midwifery which course coordinator Zoe Bradfield discussed this new degree earlier on in the podcast (check out episode 20).Don't forget to leave us a rating and review on apple podcasts!

Welcome back to Making a Midwife! This week is a special week for local Western Australian students. You may recognise her lovely voice as this week's episode features Dr Di Bloxsome, Director of Midwifery Studies and Course Coordinator of a dual degree. Di takes us through her journey into midwifery and how having her own children influenced the steps she took in her career. She has some great advice for students and chats about how she progressed from an Enrolled Nurse, Registered Nurse, Midwife, Clinical Facilitator, Lecturer and now a Director of Midwifery! Di also completed a PhD exploring the job satisfaction of midwives and chats through different pathways to becoming a midwife through ECU in WA.Don't forget to leave us a rating and review on apple podcasts!

This week we chat with Molly O'Brien, a Midwife currently based in France who educates birth workers on the biomechanics for birth - an area we crave more knowledge and understanding in! 🌟We so enjoyed hearing about Molly's journey and her midwifery thoughts! Mostly we loved listening to how she has applied her learning to better birth experiences for the people she has cared for and continues to share her wisdom through educating others!For more information on Molly's online courses or face-to-face courses if you are local head over to optimalbirth.com.uk

This week we chat with the lovely Maggie, who is both a qualified Nurse and Midwife currently consolidating her midwifery skills in a graduate program. 🌟Maggie talks us through her pathway to midwifery, which included completing her nursing degree first, the application process for MidStart (the postgraduate paid model in NSW) and the overall program requirements. It was so refreshing to hear Maggie's perspective and her feelings about studying externally versus on campus with kids. We also loved hearing Maggie's take on how completing nursing first can compliment midwifery training!We hope you enjoy this episode! If you'd like to show your support, let us know what you think of the show by leaving a rating and review. You can also find us on social media:Instagram - @making_a_midwifeTwitter - @_makingamidwifeFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/Making.a.Midwife/

Hey #midweekmidwifery fam! We are back with another brilliant episode for you! 🌟This episode features the one and only Professor Mary Renfrew. Most recently, Mary has held the position of Professor fo Mother and Infant Health at a University in Scotland. While she is in fact trying to retire, she has been called upon and roped into further research following COVID and how grateful we are that she continues to generate research in this midwifery space! In this episode, Mary tells us of her journey into midwifery, her research interests, career highlights and talks on asking the big questions in research. She even dove into the specifics on her well known works The Lancet Series.Here is Mary’s Google Scholar profile if you wish to have a look at some of her research. Click ‘YEAR’ to filter by recency.https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=qNU6XPQAAAAJ&hl=enWe hope you enjoy this episode! If you'd like to show your support, let us know what you think of the show by leaving a rating and review. You can also find us on social media:Instagram - @making_a_midwifeTwitter - @_makingamidwifeFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/Making.a.Midwife/

*Please be advised, this episode discusses infant loss and medical termination*In this weeks episode we hear from the beautiful and very generous Liana who walks us through her study journey into midwifery, her personal experiences with infant loss and also her wealth of knowledge as a bereavement midwife. Liana is very honest in sharing her experiences and wisdom in an area that can feel extremely daunting and unknown. For anyone wanting more support in understanding infant loss and how to best care for the families then this is a fantastic episode.Don't forget to leave a rating and review on apple podcasts and follow us on instagram, twitter and facebook!

This week we meet Jo! Jo speaks about her birthing experiences as well as what it's been like returning to study as a mature ages student. This episode also talks around training as a doula and how midwifery training can fit into that. Enjoy!We hope you enjoy this episode! If you'd like to show your support, let us know what you think of the show by leaving a rating and review. You can also find us on social media:Instagram - @making_a_midwifeTwitter - @_makingamidwifeFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/Making.a.Midwife/

We are so excited to be starting 2021 with this beautiful student midwife from England. Lotty is just about to graduate her Bachelor of Midwifery and move into the workforce. She generously shares her midwifery journey, touching on the different models within the UK, explains what all our UK friends mean by their “Access course and Interviews” and shares what it is like to be a student midwife in England. It was so relatable to hear Lotty talk about how we can become consumed with all things midwifery (says us making a podcast in our spare time!) while it is also a passion. We hope you enjoy hearing from Lotty and her lush accent!

In this episode we meet Lauren, a second year direct entry student from Victoria. Lauren talks through her first experience with a midwife and her journey and passion for midwifery. It was great to hear Lauren's perspective as a student midwife and mother from Victoria through the COVID pandemic and also being pregnant herself. We loved hearing about Lauren's journey and am so pleased to be able to finish the year with such a lovely episode. 

Hey #midweekmidwifery fam! In today’s episode we meet Dr Hazel Keedle from New South Wales! Hazel is a midwifery lecturer and researcher and is passionate about Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) and women's experiences of maternity care. P.S. sorry about the sound quality in the intro of this ep! We really enjoyed learning about Hazel’s journey into midwifery, starting as a nurse, her travels and her never-ending study journey! For more info on her research discussed in this episode, take a look at her papers linked below:4 factors paper: https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-019-2297-4Survey paper: https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-020-03075-8

In this episode we met Judith, a direct entry midwife from Victoria. Judith shares her journey into midwifery, her experiences along the way and some great advice for students on placement and with continuity of care experiences.

This week we meet Dr Zoe Bradfield, a Midwifery lecturer and Research Fellow based in Western Australia. Zoe shares her journey into midwifery, her career progression into research and her current role as a lecturer, researcher and work with the Australian College of Midwives. We so enjoyed hearing from Zoe about her research on midwives' experiences of being 'with woman', how this concept was understood by midwives across differing models of care and the value continuity of care brings to both women and the midwives. We also discussed the new graduate entry masters course offered through Curtin and how brilliant it will be to have such a diverse skillset in the workforce. We hope you enjoy this episode, learning more about Zoe and also the opportunities and work going on with the ACM. For our Australian student midwives, here is a link to the ACM member benefits page if you aren't already a member! https://www.midwives.org.au/membership

This episode features the wonderful Dr Rachel Reed! Rachel is a registered midwife, midwifery lecturer, podcast co-host on The Midwives' Cauldron with Katie James AND the amazing midwife behind the blog 'MidwifeThinking'. In this episode we learn more about Rachel's journey to midwifery, why having her children made her a better midwife and her take on the stages of labour we are taught at uni.She also shares some really insightful knowledge on the rites of passage which I found so interesting! For more on this, you can check out Katie and Rachel's podcast "The Midwives' Cauldron" An episode with Jane Hardwicke Collings (https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/an-interview-with-jane-hardwicke-collings/id1523178579?i=1000489743525)

In this episode we meet Alisoun, a student from Victoria studying the dual degree. Alisoun shares her placement experiences and the cross over between the nursing and midwifery degree. It was so interesting to hear about Alisoun's perspective on nursing and midwifery placements, the benefits of nursing and also about how she processed witnessing a very upsetting event on a placement early on in the degree, where she found support and how she would now be able to stand up for women and advocate for them.

This week we hear from Sally, a midwifery student from Victoria.Sally shares her experiences with her own births, her interesting journey to becoming a student midwife and how she copes with studying with young children (another supporter of the #3amClub woo!). Please note, in Sally's story we learn about her own experience of loss and termination for medical reasons, so please consider if this episode is right for you before listening.Prior to studying midwifery, Sally was able to support women in refugee communities overseas with breastfeeding through an organisation called 'Nurture Project International' which provides support services. This is a passion area that Sally would like to continue and become a Lactation Consultant. We also discuss cultural safety and inclusivity and the ways in which we are so uniquely positioned as future midwives to support childbearing people and communities.To find out more about the organisation Nurture Project International: https://nurtureprojectinternational.org

Hey #midweekmidwifery fam, here we are again with another marvellous episode! Featuring the one and only, Sheena Byrom! Sheena is well known for her work humanising birth, developing birth centres, pro-bono consultative work, multiple leadership positions and for being the co-owner of the amazing global resource 'All4Maternity' with her daughter Anna and The Practising Midwife Journal. Sheena shares so much about leadership in midwifery and the impact of positive feedback.Please note there is an international offer at the moment for those residing outside of the UK to access both journals, online modules, podcasts, colouring sheets and other resources! Head over to All4Maternity, select plans and pricing and scroll to "International Online Membership Offer"to check this offer out!https://www.all4maternity.com/

In this episode we chat with Christian, a male midwife who is caring for women in remote communities in the Northern Territory. Christian shares his journey into midwifery and the experiences he faced whilst completing placements in such a fiercely female dominated profession. It was so interesting to gain some perspective from a male student and also get some insight into cultural safety practices and Christian’s research on male partner’s ability to support and empower women!

This episode features Michaela a second year student from Victoria and a peer mentor volunteer for the Australasian Birth Trauma Association - a wonderful charity to assist those suffering from birth trauma by connecting them with others who have shared experiences, resources and health professionals in their area. Michaela shares her experience of being pregnant while studying, the challenges of part-time study without midwifery/clinical units and the temptations and pressures to opt out of the direct degree into the dual. Michaela also touches on birth trauma and the importance of watching for the signs of PTSD.

This episode features a special guest, Professor Hannah Dahlen AM. If this name sounds familiar to our Australian and New Zealander listeners, it should! Hannah is a named author on our midwifery textbooks ‘Midwifery: Preparation for Practice’ and an incredibly well known midwife for her research and plethora of publications. Hannah shares her experiences in midwifery, from her first catch at the young age of 12, the system, midwifery politics, direct entry and providing practical advice for students on placement. We also touched on Hannah's research on the perineum warm compress, the effect of continuity of care, birth trauma, violence, burnout and changing workplace culture.

This episode features the vibrant Sara Davis as she chats with us about her time as a student, her midwife super-power and the fear she felt after graduating. Sara talks through avoiding burnout and challenging the medicalisation of birth as well as telling us about her PHD in which she is developing a tool to assist in implementing change for the better in midwifery practice.

In this episode we chat with the beautiful Katie about her journey into midwifery, the lessons she has learnt along the way, the power of a cup of tea, and we get into the nitty gritty of breastfeeding support.Katie speaks so wonderfully about her time in midwifery and is such an inspiring and engaging educator.

On today's episode I chat with Jade - she applied for 3 grad programs across Australia and has accepted for an interview for all three. She talks us through her application process, interview prep and also how her grad year is going!

In today's episode we hear from Tamara who is in her final year. She takes us through deciding to leave midwifery study after her second child was born and then coming back to it 2 years later.Tamara is passionate about women's rights and shares her commitment to making positive change in midwifery and improving the birth experience for women.

This episode I chat with Lara about not getting a graduate position, doing a re-entry year and still feeling the passion after having to come up against big obstacles. Lara shares her journey of coming back to study mid after a break when her graduate application year was extremely tough with higher numbers of students and very limited places. Lara shares the differences of studying with and without kids and how her placement experiences inspire her to be a passionate teacher when her time comes to take other students under her wing.

In this episode Dioni chats about being a mature age student and starting study once her kids were older and also the services and resources her uni offered to support her in the academic side of learning. She also discusses how differently she views birth since starting her midwifery study.

Today I talk with Lorraine, a registered midwife originally trained in Ireland who now works in Western Australia. Lorraine offers fantastic insight into student midwife - preceptor relationships and how to get the most out of your placement. She also discusses burnout, direct entry midwifery and shares encouragement around persisting through hard days.

Today the tables are turned and the podcast host, Bonnie, chats with Megan about her study story. Bonnie talks about mum-guilt and the way she finds time in the day to study with a newborn and a toddler. She also touches on feeling out of her depth academically and how communication is key when needing support.

In this episode I chat with Megan. Megan discusser her experience of building trust with women quickly in high stress situations on placement. She also shares the challenges of trying to manage full time and work full time study.