REFLECTIVE WRITING IN MIDWIFERY
Task details & instructions Reflective activity Working in partnership with women Students are expected to record their experiences of continuity of care in the midwifery practice portfolio. This enables you to record your personal and professional growth, working in partnership with women, your developing relationships with women, working within the maternity setting, and your understandings about the role of the midwife within the multidisciplinary team. Task: Using a reflective framework of your choosing, with a brief explanation why you chose that reflective model, formulate one critical reflection about working in partnership with a woman you have engaged in continuity of care. This reflection should focus on exploration of the role of the midwife and midwifery practice, establishing and maintaining professional boundaries, how and when the partnership should be concluded, and responding to the woman’s individual needs. Your reflection should incorporate legal and/or ethical considerations, growing awareness of self as a midwife in relation to the woman and her baby, and the maternity care environment. You should demonstrate direct links to the NMBA Midwife Standards for Practice (2018), and include a statement about the importance of reflective practice and how it benefits your professional midwifery practice. The focus of the reflection is the overall experience you have had with one of your CCE women. It is not about an event or something going wrong. It is about the midwife′s role in working in partnership and how various strategies are needed to fulfill the role of the midwife in meeting women′s needs. It is not about the model of care, or health service or other clinicians. When choosing which woman to use in your reflection, the following suggestions may assist: * You could choose a woman who you had a very good, easy relationship with and discuss what it was that made this work so well, or * Choose a woman that was more of a challenge to develop a rapport with, or * A woman who had ideas and expectations of the pregnancy experience that were different to what you expected, or * A woman that had more complex needs, e.g. obstetric or social, and required extra thought and understanding For midwives to work to their full scope of practice they need to reflect on their working with women and how best to achieve a satisfying experience for both the woman and midwife. I highly recommend reading Chapter 15 Midwifery Partnership in Pairman et al., (2019) to help with thinking about partnerships. This may assist in choosing which woman you will reflect upon. I′d like to use Gibbs model of reflective writing. The women that I′ve followed that for my continuity care experience (CCE) was a 19 yr old that came in with her Mum on first booking appointment, while on antenatal clinic placement. The midwife that was preceptoring me recommended to recruit her & also recommended her for CaseLoad Midwife, for extra Support due to her being so young it′s her 1st baby, & she would benefit from the continuity off care, that the case load midwife′s offered.She was very young, naive not sure of last menstrual cycle, so we had to use ultrasound to know her gestation and expected due date. She was a low risk pregnancy meaning she was a green Pathway & no major pregnancy complications, just the routine symptoms vomiting, back pain and extra vaginal discharge, which she’d send via txt or rash that pop up on her skin. As I was novice I’d tell her what she’d needed to know. & urged her to call 24hr Midwife advice Line at the hospital as I was not qualified yet to be giving advice. Almost at the end of pregnancy when she was 36wks, she had decreased fetal movement. She was induced her birth was precipitate. She had dizzy episodes but it sooned relieved and within a few days it was gone and she was going home. Overall our partnership was a good one, except for the crossing over boundaries & my initial lack. of confidence at the start, but I’ve had many more cce women & have gained valuable experience that have given me a boost of motivation & the confidence of working with women. Referencing APA style, please reference within 5years (2015-2020)of peer reviewed journals/articles, book By Pairmann, Australian Midwifery Standards of Practice as well as Australian Midwifery Code of Ethics, International Confederation of Midwives & World Health Organisation in regards to being in partnership & being with women. ThankYou.