A Midwife's Story - from the UK to Australia, how trauma and burnout affect resilience

Real Nurse Stories

This is a midwife's story who is working in Australia. The midwife's anonymity has been preserved for the purposes of this interview, which has allowed a candour to this career story. The story documents this Midwife's journey from her midwifery training in London in the UK to her present role. working as a clinical midwife in Australia. The story is raw and powerful and covers topics that are not often discussed such as burnout, dealing with the death of a baby and the effects of working in a stressful environment with little formal support or debriefing. The interview is an honest account of the struggles of working as a midwife in a pressured environment brings. This interview highlights how 'burying" traumatic experiences over time can negatively impact on personal resilience. It also highlights a dedication to wanting the best possible birthing experience for a mother and her baby. This midwife is passionate about midwifery-led group practice as being the way forward. To the listener please remember that this is one person's experience and it is their story. This story will be different for every midwife interviewed. What matters is that someone else who might be experiencing something similar is able to relate and not feel that they are the only ones going through a situation. Listening to this story may bring up some personal issues for listeners who might be able to relate to the experiences described in this episode. If you would like some help with this please get in touch [e-mail] or contact the 24/7 confidential national helpline for Nurse and Midwife support in Australia on 1800667877