Becoming a midwife

Text covers: Studying midwifery; Midwifery care in the community during the woman's pregnancy; Midwifery care with the woman in labour in an institution; Midwifery care of the mother and baby at home; Midwives and perinatal mental health; The supervisor of midwives and the manager; The academic midwife; The midwife as a researcher; The global midwife; The independent and non-NHS midwife; A male midwife's perspective; Do women care if their midwife has had children? A reflection on changing my mind; The midwife who is an author; On not becoming a midwife: the role of the birth activtist; The ex-midwife.

Includes abbreviations.

This book explores what it is to be a midwife, looking at the factors that make midwifery such a special profession, as well as some of the challenges. The fully updated chapters cover a variety of settings and several different stages in a woman's pregnancy, including stories from midwives working in hospitals and in the community, as managers, supervisors and educators, and as men, women, mothers and birth activists.