Midwifery is catching

A friend of mine has lost everything except the clothes she stands in, with the loss of her family home on the weekend. She is a student midwife and she’s lost all of her textbooks for midwifery which as we all know cost an arm and a leg to replace. Her insurance money will take ages to come through though and she needs her references now and in the next few weeks to study for exams and placements.

If anyone has spare textbooks such as Mayes Midwifery, Skills for midwifery practice, Myles for Midwives, Physiology in childbearing, Midwive’s guide to antenatal investigation, The New Midwifery (Page), Midwifery preparation for practice, Marieb’s Anatomy and Physiology, could you please let me know? I’m happy to cover postage / pick things up around Adelaide, and if needs be they can be on loan for a few months.

Any donations of money for replacement of uniforms and equipment would also be greatly appreciated!

Tagged by Louisa, who probably knows that I am procrastinating over assignments at the moment…

RULES
- Post rules before giving the facts
- Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves
- People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules
- At the end of the your blog you need to tag eight people and list their names
- Leave them a comment on their blog, telling them they have been tagged and not to forget to read your blog.

1. I am growing my hair out, and I am of two minds about it. My hair is now long enough to tie up in two bunches on my head (piggy tails, we call them here) but I have a *lot* of hair, and that means that I shed a lot of hair. So it’s a hmmm all round.

2. I don’t like sweet things very much. I love salty foods, and savouries win out over dessert everytime. However, I am intollerant of wheat so I find it hard to indulge in these. For which my arse thanks me.

3. I ride a scooter, and love it. I have been knocked off it and hurt myself (see earlier post about physiotherapy) but I wouldn’t give it up for the world.

4. I am not shaving my legs at the moment. I have a tattoo (and want another before summer), and several piercings. I love these things about me but never thought I’d come across as anything other than preppy… until the other day when my classmates all exclaimed that they were surprised that I did occassionally shave my legs (esp in summer). Apparently they took me to be a whole lot more hippie butch than I think I am. I like skirts but when I ride the scooter it’s just not safe or practical.

5. I am a weather vane, and am happiest when it’s sunshiney but get really down when it’s grey or rainy. The current drought it not a bad thing for my psyche.

6. I have an almost photographic memory for things I’ve read. This works well when studying, and for reciting things back to people, but for true understanding I need to know what’s going *on*.

7. I can recite the prime ministers of Australia from the first one (Barton) through all 25. I learnt how to do this in year 7 and am obviously scarred for life! I hate the current PM. But it’s a useful trick for quiz nights.

8. I have somewhat of a 6th sense. Call it prescience, or just good deduction, I am learning to listen to it because it holds me in good stead.  

 

I went to the physiotherapist this morning and discovered that the last time I’d graced his presence had been late June. I also realised it’s been a looonnngggg time between posts. Which probably speaks volumes about where my head has been recently - buried in books!

 

This is a photo of me giving a vitamin K injection to a new born bub a few weeks ago!!! In the back left of the photo is the mum, looking very serene after a lovely, amazing, perfect birth. This bub was my first "double glove" or tandem birth (see that second photo? Those are my hands. So no, I wasn’t taking the photos!), and it finally feels like I’m getting towards being a midwife. I might work out how to write her story at some point, but for now it’s lovely and close to my heart. It’s the first true birth that I’ve been to - the other 6 have been "deliveries" instead!

 

I had a meeting yesterday with a doula and a pregnant woman and her husband. The woman is considering a vbac after 2 c-sections, and the doula will be leaving the state before the woman is due to birth. So I have offered my (free) services as birth support and advocate for this woman.

I am back in the grind of uni - this week was week 5 and I had a presentation, an essay, another presentation, and a test to sit. Blergh. Studying is hard work and it is really scary that next year will be even harder and more full on! I am still working at the hardware store, but it’s looking more and more likely that I won’t be able to continue this because of births, and study load, and inflexible managers and the realities of working retail for a business. Which would be a damn shame as I happen to like my job!