My Thoughts on Starting my Postnatal Rotation

As I shared recently, I have now finished my community midwifery rotation of my preceptorship. I took a week's annual leave after finishing, for a little bit of a break, and I am now heading back to the hospital. I think this will be shared a little belatedly but I am writing this at the start of December! 

For those that don't know, maternity wards are usually split into either two or three separate areas. There can be Labour Suite (otherwise named Delivery Suite, Birth Centre etc), Antenatal and Postnatal Wards. Some trusts have combined antenatal and postnatal wards and others have separate wards for these categories. Antenatal is known as is pregnancy care prior to delivering, looking after woman and fetus; postnatal is after delivery, looking after mother and baby. 

I've worked at trusts that have both methods, one with it split and one with it together. I do think having it together can be interesting because it keeps the work varied, whilst also ensuring you stay up to date on both guidelines and practices. Personally, I enjoy having them separated. I much prefer postnatal care first of all, so looking to the future, it will be nice to choose that as an area to specialise in. I also think it's nice to plan the day out. It can be quite hard to have a mix of both types of women, especially in terms of switching the mindset to plan the care for these women. Also, unfortunately with both types of women, there can also be lots of complaints in regards to noise from crying babies etc. I think this is completely understandable, because whilst having a baby crying next to you is okay when your baby is also taking turns crying, it's not when someone in pain or pre-term labour is trying to rest and relax. 

I am really looking forward to going to the postnatal ward. It was my favourite placement as a student and whilst it wasn't somewhere I felt super emotional about, like I did with labour suite, it is the place I always felt comfortable. For me, it came quite naturally and I felt very much at ease. As a first year student, I was pushed outside my comfort zone and encouraged to work quite independently, so it quickly became something I managed quite well. 

Having said that, I do have a few worries about the work now that I am qualified. First of all, I've never done the electronic writing, as when I last worked there it was all on paper which has now changed. When I've spoken to friends at work, they say there is no time to document and they are staying 30 minutes plus late every day to catch up. That's not something I particularly want to do so, I am hoping that I can find a way to time manage myself. 

I also worry about not being able to provide the care I want to, due to the workload and staffing levels. As a student, when I worked with a midwife it was relatively easy to tag team the care. One of the biggest reasons women stay in hospital for is breastfeeding support. I would hate for women to feedback that they haven't been given that support. 

Overall, I am really excited and I can't wait to get back into the hospital. It's going to take a little while to get used to the way of working again and refamilarise myself with policies, however I am really looking forward to more days off.