Now that I am nearing the end of my independent study, I have gotten a good chance to see what this model of midwifery is like and can begin to reflect on my third goal.
The biggest thing I have noticed (which the midwives talk about a lot) is the number of hours the midwives work every week–usually 50 or more. This often includes several nights a week when they don't get any sleep or very little and instead spend that time at the hospital. I have gotten a little taste of what this is like. The few days that I was on call, I jumped at every little noise my phone made, waiting for something to happen every second. While this was fun for a couple days as I was anticipating a miraculous experience, I think it would be a very difficult lifestyle to live every week, especially for someone who has a family of her own. The payoff for working as much as the midwives do is amazing–getting to bring life into the world–but it is a huge commitment for someone to make.
Another thing that I have noticed about this style of midwifery is that the vast majority of the time is spent with the mother throughout her nine months of pregnancy, and only a very small amount of time is with a baby–at the birth and a couple appointments during postpartum. However, I have found that the most rewarding parts of this experience for me were the times with the babies. For example, the highlight of my day at the office the other day was getting to hold a little three-week old baby, and the main reason I loved observing a birth so much was seeing the tiny infant during its very first moments of life outside the womb.
Although I have greatly enjoyed–and continue to enjoy–my time as a midwifery intern, I have realized that a job that would be the most rewarding for me would be one that works mostly and more directly with the babies, since that is what I have found lights me up the most and really makes me overjoyed. This being said, I am very glad that I am having this experience and exploring what I want in a future career because it is helping me narrow down my options and become more specific in what I want to study. In addition, this experience is teaching me so much about women's health in general, which is a very good thing for me to learn at an early age.
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