Registered midwife

By MARK STORY

Name: Jane O'Neill

Job Title: Registered midwife

Average age of graduates: 25

Working hours: Eight or 12-hour shifts depending on your contract. Midwives can self-roster according to their own shift requirements. Time and a half is paid on weekends and double time for public holidays.

Employer: National Women's Hospital

Pay: From $34,000 up to around $49,000 for a senior midwife within a public hospital. But an independent midwife can earn double that amount.

Qualifications: A bachelor's degree in Health Science (Midwifery) or equivalent is now a minimum entry point. Registered nurses can complete it in two years.

Career prospects: Midwives typically work in hospitals on wards, in delivery units, or as a community midwife. It is possible to progress to management level or operate as an independent midwife who works in hospitals and/or at home births.

Q. What do you do?

A. I work in partnership with women through the ante- and post-natal experience. What I do on any given day depends on where I am assigned. Duties can range from pre-birth, for example ensuring the baby is lying the right way, through to helping with the childbirth process. After the event, it could also include weighing babies or helping with breast feeding problems for anything up to six weeks after a baby is born. I am currently looking after around five women, who for varying reasons are regarded as high-risk after recently giving birth, for example, they might have been pre-term labour or have picked up an infection.

Q. Why did you choose this job?

A. I started as an advertising cadet at age 17 and after 20 years in the business got to the point where I'd gone as far as I could. I'd had a career as a midwife in the back of my mind after witnessing my god-daughter's birth 11 years ago. It took the next 10 years to come to fruition but I finally decided to go for it.

Q. What skills do you need to become a midwife?

A. Beyond the formal training, you need to be able to get along well with people, so good communication skills are essential. That's especially important when you're dealing with people at such a personal level. As you're helping to bring new life into the world, it's important to be able to think quickly on your feet. You're dealing with women at their most vulnerable so it's equally important to build confidentiality and trust with clients.

Q. Best part of the job?

A. It's a real privilege to work with women during the birthing process. Helping to deliver a baby has got to be the ultimate experience. I have delivered 41 babies over the past three years and have gone home on a high after every one.

Q. Most challenging/difficult part of my job?

A. As midwives work long hours and give a lot of themselves, emotionally and physically, they can suffer from burnout. Bad outcomes and a particularly long labour can be challenging to deal with on many levels. Constant lifting can be demanding.

Q. What sort of training do you get?

A. During your university training you cover various aspects of anatomy, physiology, learn all about complicated childbirths, neo natal, how to pick when a baby is unwell, and the health side of cultural safety. You're also required to deliver at least 30 babies before you graduate as a midwife. Once you graduate, you're required to constantly update your skills within any number of areas, for example from breast feeding through to learning about an eight-hour epidural.

Q. Advice to anyone interested in this career?

A. Try to hook up with an independent midwife or find out what they do before you apply. Because of the nature of the work, you have to be committed. The number of students who drop out before graduating is high. Some personalities aren't cut out for this work. You need to be patient and culturally sensitive, especially when you might have up to five family members in the room during the delivery.