Language motherhood and midwifery

In my opinion Postnatal Care starts as soon as the baby is born.
When a woman holds her newborn in her arms that is the moment she becomes a mother to that child. Not all women get the chance to continue their life as a mother in a tangible way – some newborns do not survive some are removed soon after they are born. It is both crucial and paramount that memories made during pregnancy and birth are good ones – kind empathetic words said are never forgotten – a touch and/or a hug towards women, parents and birth partners will be forever retained in lifelong memories
Think of how you as a midwife may chat in the corridor or office of your Trust and continuously consider how you speak about the people you are with as well as the women and families you care for . Think of how you talk about your colleagues as well. We are submerged into our role on a daily basis and we must choose our words wisely when handing over care , during ward rounds , in clinical settings and the office environment – don’t be dragged into the culture of “room 3 is delivered” challenge words deeds and thoughts for the sake of feminism and equality .
Recently I overheard someone call a woman a ‘wuss’ and despite wanting to shout out I decided that a calm approach away from others was more beneficial – I wanted to help that person think about this label .
I took the person to a quiet room on the pretext of showing an article in a journal and said
“I’ve two questions for you – the first is ‘are you a feminist ?’ The 2nd ‘is birth a feminist issue ?’ ”
The person replied “err I’m not sure”
I then said “if you found out someone like you had called your mother a ‘wuss’ when she was giving birth to you how would you feel?”
This led to a lightbulb moment for this person and our conversation led onto feminism and the medicalisation of childbirth – we are now firm friends – and I’ve even heard this same person talking about feminism to other staff.
Challenging someone does not need to be aggressive it should be to inspire thought and to change mindset – we are all learning and sometimes we need to stop think and consider our words – if you do you’ll realise how your positive approach can soon spread . Be kind with your language
I’d like to thank Sheena Byrom for writing so much about language around midwifery and obstetrics – and making me think of how I speak each and every day