Midwives are health professionals who provide complete care to pregnant and postpartum clients in a community setting. The path to midwifery is not a simple one. It begins with the midwifery program, a very selective, immersive and often grueling four to six year post-secondary program. When working as midwives, we are on call 24 hours/7 days a week. We are there for our clients when in need of a 2 am labour assessment, we do 12 hour clinic days, we attend births with the potential to be awake for 24 hours at a time. We are present for that moment your baby takes its first breath. We are also available to clients when working through the grief of miscarriage. Midwives work with their hearts and hands. Our work is both physically and psychologically demanding, involving a range of emotions.
Knowing this, why did we choose to become midwives? The answer to this question lies in our lived experiences. To more clearly understand our path to midwifery, five of our midwives share their stories.