My future profession is obstetrician. With these words you will graduate from medical school, but who is an obstetrician? Today, the medical industry has a huge number of different areas in the field of gynecology, surgery, and dentistry. Off the list of these professions is the profession of obstetrician. To be an obstetrician, you must not only have medical knowledge, but also have an understanding of other data that is not related to medicine in any way.
In addition, the doctor treats the patient from the moment he is born, while the obstetrician monitors the well-being of the pregnant woman and the development of her fetus from the time it is conceived. To put it another way, the obstetrician is the original doctor, our acquaintance with whom occurs right up to our birth. An obstetrician is a teacher for the expectant mother, monitors her psychological and physiological state, and can also assist in childbirth.
Who is an obstetrician?
An obstetrician is a qualified professional who has a university degree medical education, which studies the physical state of a woman’s body, as well as its pathologies, which are caused by conception and pregnancy, the birth and postpartum process, diseases of the fetus and newborn. The very name of the specialty “Accoucher”, which is translated from French as “to give birth”, “to give birth”, indicates the key work of this doctor, which is multilateral support and assistance to a woman during the birth process. Obstetrics was present back in ancient centuries, then a woman who had already given birth to a child, guided by her experience, could help give birth to other girls from their tribe.
For a long period of time, obstetrics was one of the types of gynecology and surgery, as it was at a lower stage of formation than other areas of medicine. Obstetrics became an independent branch of medicine only in the 19th century, although obstetricians were trained in special schools back in the 4th–5th centuries BC. e. School of Midwifery in Russian Federation was opened only in 1754. , and obstetric clinics in 1808.
Nowadays, an obstetrician is not only a professional in assisting during childbirth, he is also a specialist with extensive knowledge in surgery, pediatrics, resuscitation and therapy.
The responsibilities of obstetricians do not end with monitoring the progress of pregnancy and obstetric care. They carefully monitor the condition of the new mother and her baby and, if the need arises, they can prescribe therapy, take the necessary tests to establish a more complete diagnosis, if the delivery was performed by cesarean section (or other surgical intervention), an obstetrician is present during this process and takes part in it. If unforeseen circumstances arise, the obstetrician performs resuscitation and visually assesses the child’s well-being after he is born.
Which personal qualities should an obstetrician have?
The functions of an obstetrician, as well as every other medical employee, is to provide competent medical support. For this reason, representatives of this business are obliged, first of all, to love people, be responsible, and confident in their knowledge and strengths.
We also suggest that you familiarize yourself with the professions of an anesthesiologist, speech therapist and dentist.
In addition, the peculiarity of the high-quality work of an obstetrician will require him to have some individual characteristics:
To be neat
-Be pedantic
-Have the ability to empathize
-Have resistance to stress
-Be patient
-Be sociable
-Be friendly
-Be responsive
-Be able to self-organize
-Be attentive
-Be able to respond correctly in extreme situations
-Have well-formed perceptual, short-term and long-term memory
-Have an analytical mind
The work of an obstetrician implies the presence of broad knowledge in a wide variety of areas. This expert must be familiar with the operation of sound equipment and other medical equipment in order to diagnose and treat the patient. Must understand the basic principles of psychology, genetics and sexology, pharmacology, communication ethics and sociology.
Advantages of being an obstetrician:
1) The main advantage of this specialty, undoubtedly, is the fact that with the help of this professional, babies are born. Since the birth of a healthy baby brings positive feelings not only to the father and mother, but also to the obstetricians. After all, the minute a happy mother takes her baby into her arms, a feeling of creating a miracle appears. Directly for this reason, almost all obstetricians say that they work, in particular, not for money, but for emotions.
2) A big plus this specialty has a wide range of knowledge that can provide assistance in Everyday life, and not just at the place of work. An obstetrician can be confidently described as a versatile expert, capable of providing competent support to both babies and pensioners. Consequently, he is able to be an individual family doctor for his family.
3) What is the salary of an obstetrician? Even if the salary is not that big, excellent experts do not complain about a lack of money. This is because in our state, a good specialist There is always a cash gift for a job well done.
Disadvantages of the profession:
1) Anyone who chooses to become an obstetrician needs to prepare not only for positive feelings, but also for tense situations and stress, since many pregnancies today do not go well. The terrible environmental situation takes away the health of many mothers and babies every year, adding more and more pathologies to them. And according to experts, this figure will only increase.
2) Another disadvantage of the specialty may be working hours beyond the norm. Babies are not told exactly when they will be born, which is why the obstetrician must be prepared to work at any time of the day, holiday or weekend. And childbirth can take more than one hour, during which the obstetrician experiences overexertion.
There is a very big responsibility for the life and health of the mother and baby, so when you receive an obstetrician education, you must understand that the life and health of the baby and mother depend on you. Not every person is able to endure this.
You can get to know the profession better in this video:
An obstetrician is a specialist who helps women during pregnancy and childbirth. There are two types of specialists in this profession: simply an obstetrician and an obstetrician-gynecologist. These are not just different names, but a range of responsibilities and capabilities of a physician. A simple obstetrician provides moral support to patients and delivers newborns. The doctor performs surgical interventions, monitors the birth process and applies stitches.
Story
The development of obstetrics is closely related to the development of medicine. Ancient writings mention birth processes and actions during them. But until the 13th century this area medical knowledge often neglected, relegated to the background. Hippocrates was the first to study and describe in detail the process of birth and its components, devoting an entire section to it.
But over time, obstetrics did not advance much. It reached a particular decline in the dark times of the Middle Ages. Everything was subordinated to the church, and any attempts at healing were equated with the machinations of the devil and were punishable by burning at the stake. At that time, midwives acted as assistants during childbirth, who often became the culprits of injury and death of the newborn or mother. Enough for a long time Obstetricians were exclusively women, but in Ancient Greece they also resorted to the help of men. This was done in later times, but only in the most extreme cases.
Only in the 16th century did obstetrics begin to be classified as a separate branch. At this time, the first manual on it with sketches is created. This is the start new era and the beginning of the development of obstetrics as a separate component of medicine as a whole. Nowadays, labor activity has been studied almost completely. Modern technologies together with the constantly developing and expanding knowledge of doctors, they made childbirth as safe as possible, and the profession of an obstetrician was prestigious and in demand. After all, it is these specialists who help bring a new life into the world and significantly facilitate the birth process for the woman in labor.
Description
Obstetrics is a rather complex branch of medical knowledge. Despite a rather limited range of activities, this specialist is constantly faced with potentially dangerous processes. Obstetricians can work in two areas:
- An obstetrician is a mid-level medical worker. To obtain a diploma, it is enough to graduate from college. The main responsibilities of a specialist are psychological and physical preparation for childbirth. Also, if necessary, this specialist receives the child, while the doctor performs other procedures necessary for a successful delivery.
- An obstetrician-gynecologist is already a specialist with a higher medical education, a certified doctor. He knows everything not only about the birth process, but about its pathologies and complications. This specialist guides the pregnant woman from her first visit to the doctor until her discharge from the hospital. The range of his responsibilities includes constant monitoring of the condition of the expectant mother, timely assistance in the event of toxicosis (especially in the last trimester), management of childbirth, performing all necessary actions for successful completion of the process. This includes surgery and suturing.
An obstetrician is one of the most significant professions in medicine. After all, with the help of this specialist, each of us was born.
What specialties to study to become an obstetrician?
To become an obstetrician, you must choose one of the following specializations:
- Medical business.
- Obstetrics and gynecology.
- Midwifery (for colleges).
All these specialties will allow you to get a job in a maternity hospital and take part in the emergence of a new life.
What do you have to do at work and specializations?
The work of an obstetrician is quite difficult and stressful. Choosing this specialty, you should remember that you will work around the clock, because childbirth does not know a time frame.
To the spectrum daily duties obstetrician includes:
- Examination of pregnant women and women in labor. Checking blood pressure, body temperature, weight, swelling, measuring abdominal circumference, height of the uterine fundus and checking its tone by palpation. The obstetrician also listens to the fetal heartbeat.
- Carrying out Doppler ultrasound as prescribed by a doctor.
- Collection of material for analysis. Usually these are smears on the flora.
- Preparing for childbirth. This is a range of examination procedures, to which psychological assistance is added.
- Constant monitoring of the condition of the mother and fetus during contractions, monitoring their intensity and frequency.
- If it is impossible for a gynecologist to attend the birth, delivery of the fetus.
- Conducting an initial examination and measuring the weight and height of the newborn. The obstetrician attaches a clothespin to the umbilical cord and treats it.
- Checking the integrity of the placenta in the postpartum period.
Also, an obstetrician with secondary education performs a number of equally important procedures every day.
In addition to the above, the following responsibilities have been added to the range of activities of an obstetrician-gynecologist:
- Surgical delivery by Caesarean section.
- Carrying out other surgical interventions.
- Performing specific procedures during childbirth that require high qualifications. This is turning the fetus, establishing a vacuum, forceps, or using the squeezing technique.
- Squeezing the uterus to contract it.
- Sutures for ruptures.
- Prescribing the necessary medications.
In addition, an obstetrician-gynecologist can perform a number of prenatal procedures and surgeries. Only a highly qualified doctor can manage premature or pathological births.
Who is the obstetrician profession suitable for?
The main criterion for a good obstetrician is resistance to stress. Childbirth is a difficult process for both mother and child. The result is almost impossible to predict. Ability to quickly make the right decisions and good memory– this golden combination will help save more than one life.
An obstetrician must have a certain physical strength and firmness of hands. After all, you will be holding a fragile newborn, who is so important to receive correctly and not drop.
Self confidence. It is because of the obstetrician's lack of confidence that accidents and negligence often occur.
Attention to details. Even the slightest deviation from the norm should attract attention.
Demand
This profession is in high demand. Both in maternity hospitals and private clinics, new personnel or already experienced specialists are always required.
How much do people working as obstetricians earn?
Your salary directly depends on your level of qualification: you are just an obstetrician or an obstetrician-gynecologist. On average, the salary ranges from 33-41 thousand rubles per month.
Is it easy to get a job as an obstetrician?
It's easy to get a job. Obtaining a medical education requires mandatory practice. Already here you can prove yourself, thereby ensuring a decent workplace.
For device in private clinic you will need experience and recommendations. You will be assessed on various parameters. Only the best are hired into such structures.
How does a career as an obstetrician usually work?
For an obstetrician, getting a promotion is quite difficult. After all, to do this you should start with higher education and retrain as an obstetrician-gynecologist. Only after this can we talk about career growth and managerial ambitions. You can grow to become the head of the maternity or gynecological department. As a result, this allows you to get closer to the position of chief physician.
Prospects for the obstetrician profession
The profession of an obstetrician is quite promising. It opens up a lot of development opportunities for the owner. You can obtain a higher medical education, which will make you not a secondary employee, but a leading specialist. The diploma provides the opportunity to conduct private practice. After receiving the qualification “obstetrician-gynecologist”, you can apply for the chair of the head of the department. This is the prospect of becoming a chief physician or getting a position in the Ministry of Health.
Every expectant mother eagerly awaits the birth of her baby. That is why she is so worried about how the birth will go, whether the medical staff will make sure that the baby is not harmed and that no complications arise. Representatives of the fair sex, who are about to become mothers for the first time, can only remotely imagine what a doctor and what a midwife does after the start of labor. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully study this issue and remember what the responsibilities of specialists are.
What does a gynecologist do during childbirth?
The manager of the entire process, of course, is the doctor. Only he can make the right decisions in a timely manner and give the necessary instructions to the rest of the staff. This person will do everything possible, and sometimes even impossible, to ensure that the child is born into this world alive and healthy. Therefore, in no case should you underestimate the role of the doctor, who, it would seem, is just observing the process.
First of all, the gynecologist examines the expectant mother and gets acquainted with the history of the entire pregnancy in order to draw up an approximate plan of action for the obstetricians. Most often already at at this stage the woman in labor will find out whether a caesarean section, stimulation and other additional manipulations are required. When the long-awaited contractions finally begin, the doctor must examine the woman’s vagina every hour to monitor the dilatation of the cervix. If the process of the birth of the baby is successful, then in the future the gynecologist will appear in the ward only periodically.
The specialist also gives the necessary instructions to the midwives and prescribes certain medications to the woman in labor, since there is often a need to administer painkillers. Moreover, the doctor carefully monitors the baby’s condition and his heartbeat in order to help him be born if complications arise. It is this person who performs a dissection of the perineum if the fetal head cannot come out, as well as a puncture of the amniotic sac when the woman’s labor is weak.
After completing the important stage throughout the process, the specialist controls the further release of the placenta and mandatory carefully examines her in order to draw final conclusions about the state of the new mother’s body. If the integrity of the placenta has been compromised, the woman is given drugs that accelerate uterine contractions and help the remaining tissue leave the womb.
Next, the doctor treats the external genitalia of the woman in labor with antiseptic agents and, if necessary, closes ruptures that were found in the vagina, uterus or perineum itself. You should not worry about the pain of these manipulations, as they are performed under local anesthesia.
The final responsibilities of the gynecologist are the detailed recording of the progress of labor and the preparation of an extract. After that, he monitors the condition of the mother and her baby until they finally go home.
What is the role of the midwife?
Many people greatly underestimate the role of midwives in helping the baby overcome all obstacles and be born. Of course, these people do not make any serious decisions, but clearly follow all the instructions of the gynecologist, and they bear enormous responsibility for the baby’s health. After the expectant mother enters the maternity hospital, her blood pressure and pulse are repeatedly measured. The same person will help the woman with correct design all important documents and certificates, and will also answer all the accumulated questions.
After contractions begin, the midwife monitors their frequency and strength in order to provide timely assistance to the woman in labor. Moreover, after the doctor’s orders, she will administer painkillers and give a relaxing massage. Very often, the staff teaches the expectant mother to breathe and push correctly, and morally supports her throughout the entire process.
When the baby finally shows his head, it is the midwife who helps him completely free himself from the womb and literally guides every movement of the woman in labor. The specialist then observes the pulsation of the umbilical cord in order to cut it in time. Then the baby is thoroughly dried and placed on the new mother’s breast. After several hours, the baby is weighed, his height is measured and even dressed.
It can be understood that a huge responsibility falls on the entire medical staff, and therefore it is difficult to determine whose role is more important. But the woman will forever remember the voice and face of the midwife who showed her the long-awaited baby for the first time and supported her during childbirth.
GOU SPO "Ryazan Medical and Social College"
Methodological development
open class hour
In the group “Midwifery” 21
Curator: Potselueva E.V.
2009
The topic of the open class hour: “Me and my profession” in the group “Midwifery” 21.
Goal: Increasing students' motivation in acquiring knowledge in their specialty, developing interest in their chosen profession.
Class hour is accompanied by multimedia presentation with a demonstration of slides, photographs, diagrams, as well as the song “Maternity Hospitals” by O. Mityaev.
Plan
- Introduction by the curator.
- Poem “You can’t find a more beautiful profession”
- A story about midwives.
- Korablev G.I. - famous Ryazan resident, one of the founders of domestic obstetrics and gynecology.
- Characteristics of the midwife profession.
- The poem “Someone is proud of the harvest.”
- Demonstration of skills acquired by students - swaddling a doll.
- Demonstration of multimedia slides, listening to Oleg Mityaev’s song “Maternity Hospitals”
- Functional responsibilities of a midwife.
- Poem "Monologue of a local midwife."
- Poem "Stop, let him see the sun."
- Survey results.
- Poem "The world is growing daily."
- Summing up, conclusion.
Obstetrics (from the French “accoucher” - to give birth) is one of the oldest branches of medicine. Pregnant women of Ancient Rus' believed in the help of pagan spells, in sacrifices to the gods, and in the power of herbs.
According to the ancients, the white water lily Odolen, the grass, had special power. Before giving birth, the pregnant woman's belly was smeared with an ointment made from hare bile, wheatgrass juice and goat fat, she was given water in which two eggs had been boiled to drink, and two pieces of white water lily rhizome to eat.
Images of ancient Slavic deities Rozhanitsy
There was even a song composed:
If only the woman knew,
What is Odolen - grass,
I would sew it into a belt
And I would wear it on myself...
Traditionally, families had many children, and childbirth, which occurred almost every year, was perceived by everyone as the most natural event. Our ancestors thanked the gods for their favor in the event of the successful birth of a child and met his death with humility. In those days, the elder women in the family provided assistance to the woman in labor. The chronicles have preserved the name of the doctor Eupraxia, an unusually talented and selfless woman who lived in the 12th century. From the period of early Christianity, the prayer of a woman in labor has reached us:
I will stand, blessing myself, and cross myself,
from the hut by the doors, from the yard by the gates,
into an open field, into a blue sea.
There is Christ on the throne there
The Most Holy Mother of God sits,
holding golden keys
opens meat chests,
releases the baby from the flesh, from the womb;
releases the baby from flesh, from hot blood,
so as not to feel any pinching or aching, amen.
But the Mongol-Tatar yoke, which dominated Rus' for more than two centuries (1237–1480), practically stopped the development of medicine. Only at the end of the 16th century, under Ivan the Terrible, was the first government agency, managing the healthcare system - the so-called Pharmacy Order.
Midwives
Childbirth in Rus' was usually attended by “midwives” (“to midwife” - to receive a baby).
“...Village midwives are always elderly women, mostly widows. Sometimes married women also give birth, but only those who have stopped giving birth themselves. A girl, although elderly, cannot be a midwife, and a childless one is a bad midwife. What kind of grandmother is she if she didn’t torture herself? With her, it is difficult to give birth, and the children will not always survive... The midwife is invited to all difficult births, and always comes at the end to tie the umbilical cord, wash and steam the woman in labor and the newborn, and take care of him for the first days.” (G. Popov. Russian folk medicine. 1903)
Midwives did not have special education, but were famous for their skills, based on the experience of entire generations. Not only in the countryside or in the city, but also in the capital, the tsar's and boyar's wives gave birth in most cases with the help of midwives.
The functions of midwives, in addition to the first care of the baby, were very diverse and consisted of performing customs, beliefs, conspiracies and various manual actions. So that the birth would begin, the midwife unbraided the woman in labor, untied all the knots on her clothes, walked with the woman in labor around the hut, hung her up by her arms, shook her, kneaded her stomach. Moreover, the more the grandmother midwife knew such techniques, the more experienced and knowledgeable she was considered in the “woman’s business.”
It is interesting that the midwife’s visit to the pregnant woman was also surrounded by secrecy. She always passed through backyards, through vegetable gardens. Usually the midwife entered the house with the words: “God help me work! " She dressed the woman in labor in a clean shirt, gave her Epiphany water to drink, and lit a candle in front of the icons. It was believed that the surest means to speed up labor were to unbutton the shirt collar, remove rings, earrings, untie knots, and unravel the braids of the woman in labor. They unlocked all the locks in the house, opened the barriers of the stoves and gates: after all, if everything is open and untied, then the birth will be “untied” more quickly. Throughout the birth, the midwife encouraged the woman in labor, telling her that everything was going well, and stroking her lower back. Almost until the moment the baby erupted through the external genitalia, it was customary to lead the woman in labor around the hut by the arms. The umbilical cord of a newborn was tied with a thread twisted with the mother’s hair so that the connection between them, according to popular belief, would remain for life.
They resorted to the help of midwives until the middle of the 20th century.
Gerasim Ivanovich Korablev
Gerasim Ivanovich Korablev, an outstanding obstetrician of the first half of the 19th century, was born in Ryazan. After graduating from the Ryazan Seminary in 1809, Korablev entered the Moscow Medical-Surgical Academy, from which he graduated in 1813 with an award and was retained as a prosector. He then served as a regimental doctor in the Tarutinsky Infantry Regiment and in 1816 received the rank of staff doctor.
In 1819, having successfully defended his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Medicine, Korablev was appointed professor of midwifery at the Moscow Orphanage and adjunct professor of pharmacy at the Medical-Surgical Academy. In 1826 he was confirmed as an extraordinary professor of obstetrics and forensic medicine, and since 1827 - an ordinary professor.
In the forties of the 19th century, the state of obstetric science and practical obstetric activity left much to be desired, despite a number of major studies.
Korablev was one of those who loved Russia and was rooting for its fate. “The goal of obstetric science,” he said, “is to preserve and, through this, reproduce citizens who constitute the main support and power of the state.”
An educated and thoughtful doctor, Korablev was critical of the attitudes adopted in obstetrics. Those of them that he considered incorrect, harmful to a woman’s life, he disputed, despite the fact that they came from the luminaries of Western European science, and put forward his own.
In 1840, Korablev wrote a three-volume manual with an atlas on obstetrics and women’s diseases - “A course of obstetric science and women’s diseases, or the doctrine of women’s life regarding sexual functions, presented in physiological, dietary, pathological, therapeutic and operational terms.”
Gerasim Ivanovich Korablev highly valued the art of midwifery: “Obstetrics is one of the most important and advantageous sciences; it differs from surgery in that the surgery of one, and the midwifery science of two, suddenly, and sometimes more, saves from death.”
Korablev has the priority of introducing into obstetric practice the concept of a “functionally narrow pelvis,” usually incorrectly attributed to the German obstetrician Martin.
In the chapter on pregnancy hygiene, Korablev points out that it is necessary to pay great attention to the mental preparation of the pregnant woman, to support her good mood, instill confidence in the successful outcome of childbirth. Realizing that in first-time mothers, the breaking of water and other phenomena can cause fear and thoughts about the unfavorable course of labor, Korablev recommended that the pregnant woman be first familiarized with these moments and explained how to behave during pushing. His advice forms the basis of modern psychoprophylactic preparation of pregnant women for childbirth.
Korablev made the following requirements for obstetricians: “Whoever wants to become an obstetrician must first know not only midwifery itself, but also other sciences: anatomy, physiology, mathematics and physics, pharmacology, pathology, therapy and surgery.” At the same time, a good obstetrician must also have some special, both physical, mental and moral qualities.
Physical qualities include:
- Reliable health. Hernias, consumption and wounds on the hands make the doctor incapable of obstetric practice.
- Strong and well formed body and especially agility and dexterity in the hands, which both should be equally capable of. The arms should be strong, but the hands should not be wide or thick, but narrow and flexible.
- The obstetrician should not be very young and not very old.
Mental qualities include:
- A vivid imagination and good memory.
- Sharp and resourceful mind and subtle consideration.
- Decisiveness and philanthropic composure, caution without fear or cowardice.
From the moral point of view it is necessary:
- Decency, friendliness and affection, and sobriety.
- Patience, compassion, forbearance, meekness, hard work and precision in business.
- Conscientiousness and selflessness, modesty and respect for female modesty.
Name of academician G.I. Korablev occupies an undeservedly modest place in the history of our science. Meanwhile, he was a colorful figure of a teacher, a Russian scientist and writer, a famous medical practitioner and an ardent patriot.
Functions of a midwife
These are representatives of, one might say, the most ancient branch of medicine. Wherever obstetricians and gynecologists work, midwives always help them in their work. And there are many health care areas where the midwife provides care to women independently, without the day-to-day guidance and control of a doctor.
So, for example, working at a paramedic-midwife station, she performs very responsible functions, which in other conditions are the responsibility of an obstetrician-gynecologist. Of course, patients are not left completely without medical care; they are consulted by doctors from nearby hospitals and clinics, but these medical institutions sometimes they are relatively far away, so follow-up care and all recommendations from doctors are carried out by the midwife.
A midwife at a paramedic-midwife station must be a very competent specialist, capable of providing the necessary assistance in any difficult situations. The life of a woman and her child often depends on how quickly the midwife makes a diagnosis and what tactics she chooses.
In the antenatal clinic, the midwife works directly with the doctor - performs the procedures prescribed by him and maintains documentation. There are significantly more patients here during the day than at a paramedic-midwife station, and the midwife is required to be collected, prompt and pay great attention, especially if she is entrusted with independent work in the examination room where a preventive examination is carried out.
In addition to directly assisting the doctor at the appointment, the midwife of the antenatal clinic calls pregnant women and patients under dispensary registration for periodic examinations, takes care of the availability of the necessary medications, instruments, sterile materials in the office, conducts classes at the school for pregnant women, and conducts sanitary educational work.
A midwife in a maternity hospital has completely different responsibilities. It would seem that here its functions are extremely narrowed, since its main task is, under the guidance of a doctor, to provide everything necessary for the normal course of childbirth. But how responsible is this work!
When a pregnant woman is admitted, the midwife directly monitors her condition, the baby’s vital activity (heartbeat, movements), performs various procedures, gives injections, and distributes medications. With the onset of labor, the midwife is constantly next to the expectant mother and guides her behavior. If necessary, provides this or that assistance. She is the first to greet the arrival of a newborn, conducts an external examination and treatment of the baby, and shows him to his mother. In case of complicated childbirth, during surgical interventions, the midwife helps the doctor and prepares to deliver the newborn.
MIDWIFE
1. general characteristics professions
Our country attaches great importance to the protection of motherhood and childhood. They begin to take care of the child’s health from the earliest stage - from the period of pregnancy of the expectant mother. And a significant role in this belongs to the midwife, who monitors the woman throughout the entire period of pregnancy, as well as the child of early childhood. A midwife works in obstetric and gynecological institutions and areas. What are its functions?
It establishes the fact of pregnancy, its timing and the timing of pregnancy leave. Conducts consultations and activities on pregnancy prevention and health education in the field of women's hygiene, maternal and child health. Performs sanitary treatment of women in labor, isolates patients, and, if necessary, provides initial care to a sick child. Makes surgical dressings, assists the doctor with operations and intravenous infusions. Performs subcutaneous injections, catheterization, applies cupping, compresses, leeches, and enemas.
2. Requirement individual characteristics specialist
Must love your job and be prepared to empathize;
Emotional balance, tolerance to whims, observation, and the ability to accurately determine the state of a woman in labor are required;
A large amount of short-term memory is required, because... you need to remember the doctor’s prescriptions, the character traits of the woman in labor;
The ability to switch and distribute attention helps the midwife during sequential shifts various operations and when simultaneously performing several patient care activities;
Developed empirical thinking allows the midwife to navigate what a particular patient needs and in what order.
3. Medical contraindications
Neuroses that cause inability to control oneself;
Diseases that limit mobility;
High degree of hearing loss and decreased vision.
May 5 is traditionally celebrated as International Midwife Day - a professional holiday for those who play important role in ensuring safety during childbirth.
“The profession of a midwife is a profession that cannot be entered into without a calling.” But still, the main quality of a midwife’s work is professionalism.
"Wise woman"- this is exactly what the word “midwife” means. This profession was and remains special because it combines several specialties at once: in addition to the fact that midwives deliver children, at the same time they perform the duties of a pediatric, ward, operating room and anesthesiological nurse, and at the same time a psychologist. The approach to their education is more than serious.
Midwife may become someone who loves children. Her work is not only noble, but also very responsible and complex, since two lives depend on it. Therefore, the midwife is required to have in-depth knowledge, quick response, clinical judgment and good physical health.
You special profession, because only midwives are given the opportunity to experience an incomparable feeling of awe at the moment of the birth of a child, when you take the newly born life in your arms and say: “You have a daughter!”
Monologue of a local midwife
Our work is complex and important.
We need everyone to understand the meaning
Our, albeit small, link
For prevention and treatment.
Before you were born
We caress, protect and cherish you,
We protect you from future troubles,
We are rooting for your happiness.
We protect and protect your mother,
For nine months you are with an obstetrician.
You are one, so far only one
Separated by the placental barrier.
We are closely monitoring: is the protein high?
What about the swelling? With weight? With size?
And a significant time will come -
Your first meeting is with an obstetrician.
Hello! Your birth -
This is a long-awaited exam for us,
The main result of our modest victories.
This means that you are ours, and not just your mother’s!
The motto of the Midwives is: “There is a way out of any situation.”
The very first hands in every person’s life are not even the mother’s, they are the hands of the midwife who delivered the baby. Our journey in this world begins with them. There is probably no need to talk once again about how significant and spiritual this one of the many medical specialties. And what satisfaction it gives to those who dedicated their lives to it.
But when going into the profession of midwife, you need to know that
1. low-paid profession. 2. Most likely you will have to work for days - women in labor like to give birth at night and in the morning.
3. Quite strong physical and nervous tension
The world is growing daily
Everything is ahead of the baby.
It starts with the hands of the midwife
And our destinies and paths.
Are we following the compass needle?
Or we direct the path of the river,
Are we storming the vastness of space -
Everything with ease, everything from her hand.
And there are no more humane professions
On all six continents,
When all of humanity lies
In the midwife's arms!
You couldn't find a more beautiful profession,
It is needed at any time of the century
Becoming a midwife means being responsible
For the birth of a person into the world.
Someone is proud of their harvest, and someone will fly into space, but we give birth and give birth, and the maternity hospital does not sleep at night.
Let's do our best - our conscience dictates otherwise. So that everything goes without complications! Here... he was born... he sighed... he screamed!
Higher's choice future profession influenced:
Why did you choose this profession?
Thank you for your attention!
In 1964, a young French obstetrician barely escaped responsibility for. A friend offered him samples of a new drug that affects consciousness. And Michel Oden tried to give very small doses of this drug to women in labor. The results were amazing. “The women seemed to lose their minds, they screamed in the corridors, pulled catheters out of their veins, scared the midwives... but the child was born immediately! "But since such behavior was "unacceptable in medical institution", Auden slowly stopped his and never talked about it.
Understandably, given that this drug, GHB (gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid, or gamma-hydroxybutyric acid), is notorious as a “date-rape drug,” that is, a drug that, when given to a person, can cause him to lose control of himself. Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid promotes the release of the hormone oxytocin and in the case of these women (by the way, whether THEY knew about the experiment, Auden does not say...) broke down the cultural barriers that separated the woman from her quickly giving birth foremothers.
Auden suggested that champagne speeds up labor because it also contains the inhibition-releasing gamma-hydroxybutyric acid. On the one hand, I would love to see this book, which, as the author hints, may be the swan song of this wonderful writer and thinker advocating the use of GBH in birth block instead of synthetic oxytocin.
Just imagine the results! (Not to mention the safety issues of keeping such a drug under lock and key from various perverts, of which I think there are plenty in every major teaching hospital...). It is enough that the hypothesis of such a high authority as Auden allows us doulas to consider a bottle of champagne in a doula bag to be no less important than, for example, Crocs...
Since the early 60s, Auden has been trying to explain that human society is the main enemy of childbirth, because we cannot help but interfere. Only by suppressing the “thinking brain,” the cortex, can a woman regain the ability of our foremothers - to give birth easily and quickly. In primitive societies, women are allowed to give birth themselves, with an experienced assistant waiting at some distance, but for thousands of years we have preferred to do exactly the opposite.
And quite often (more often than we would like) we discover that we did everything wrong. Auden reminds us that just recently, terribly recently, doctors discovered that babies physically need to be close to their mothers immediately after birth, and not in the children's ward.
We shaved women's crotches, gave them enemas, wiped their nipples with alcohol before they offered their breasts to a child, and now it turns out that these microbes, it turns out, are necessary for babies! (And, the author might add, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence recently informed us that decades of immediate cord clamping and cutting were depriving newborns of up to 30% of their natural blood volume.)
Women today, on average, labor three hours longer than women of the same age, weight and height 60 years ago. Many women who have not had very successful births pass on, thanks to the spread of cesarean sections, this “inability to give birth” to their daughters, thus the proportion of women who cannot give birth without help in the literal sense of the word is also growing in our society. At the same time, we are moving further and further away from the ability to experience what Auden called the “fetal expulsion reflex.”
As I discovered in my time studying with Auden, his ideas, given in a large perspective, cannot always be applied “here and now.” Yes, I wholeheartedly accept the fact that a woman should turn off her cerebral cortex and allow her subcortex to turn on. But for the anxious, rational thirty-year-old business women whose births I accompany, such a shutdown of the cortex is rarely possible (this is also why I mastered the Hypnobirthing technique).
Dr. Oden spends a lot of time studying the possible long-term consequences of medical interventions in childbirth for humanity... Recently, by the way, a prominent American lawyer specializing in “medical” cases admitted to me that Pitocin (an American analogue of synthetic oxytocin) was brought to him by more income than any other intervention in childbirth, since this drug is responsible for a huge number of birth injuries, including brain injuries.
It would be great to learn from the book Auden's opinion on this matter. Instead, Oden is interested in less-than-credible research suggesting a link between C-sections, oxytocin and autism.
Autism is a relatively recent diagnosis. Its wording in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the “psychiatrists' bible,” was changed again in 2013. And, as far as we understand, it can be changed more than once. There is also an opinion that there is a hereditary predisposition to autism. Thus, I have no confidence in the connection of such an unstudied condition as autism with cesarean section or induction of labor. Auden rightly warns about the phenomenon of “dead-end research”: the conclusions of a study are so socially unacceptable that the researcher practically buries his work. On the other hand, many questions about autism are still waiting to be answered, and in this situation it is inappropriate to point fingers...
For doulas, Auden's ideal birth scenario looks wonderful: a woman gives birth alone (without a midwife or with an unnoticed and uninvolved midwife; and no man!), in a dark room. But for many of our clients, this description resembles torture: locked in a dark closet, accompanied by the ominous tricoteuse (tricoteuse (French) - knitter; an allusion to famous characters of the era of the Great French Revolution - women who were present with knitting at the meetings of the Convention, the Revolutionary Tribunal and at the foot of guillotine during numerous public executions; under the monarchy, knitting was considered low labor, and “knitter” was a humiliating nickname; the new regime gave women many rights, crossing out the old prohibitions, including the right to “take part in the meetings of the Commune and knit,” - approx. .trans.), silently knitting in the corner. This is not what our culture believes “birth support” looks like.
Auden also puts the icing on the cake of his birth scenario: If a woman cannot give birth within a certain time, then, he explains, an emergency caesarean section is a better choice than continuing painful contractions with more and more interventions. It's knife time!
I understand this very well. Every week I read birth stories from either women in my courses or clients of my colleagues, in which the woman (and her cervix!) was subjected to one drug after another, while the woman was chained to a monitor and an IV for hours, and her body was tortured experienced shock after shock - and all this only in order to “avoid a Caesarean.”
On the other hand, it is difficult for me to imagine women who can really give birth under the conditions proposed by Auden. Where can I find a woman who will turn off her cerebral cortex so well that she will be able to give birth alone in a dark room and “on another planet”, AT THE SAME TIME KNOWING that somewhere a clock is ticking, measuring the time after which she will be taken to the operating room for abdominal surgery? Definitely not where I live.
Michelle Oden has a strong influence on everyone who is thinking about physiological, but at the same time safe childbirth. However, I often find his theories more educational than practical. Women aren't that stupid. Man easily learned to be afraid. Unlearning... that's a completely different story.
So we have forgotten how to give birth, as Auden believes? - I ask myself.
Many women give birth under roughly the same conditions, and most of them, unless they are too young, emaciated, or have undergone female circumcision, succeed. Most women don't have access to a nice, clean operating room at their neighborhood hospital. All they need are well-trained and supportive midwives; Women need accessible health care, but they also need universal childbirth information that teaches women about their ability to give birth.
And yes, we still need Dr. Auden, even if that voice is Cassandra's, grimly prophesying our future doom. May Auden continue to amaze and sometimes infuriate us for many, many years to come!
